By Mudita Menona Sodder
Mumbai, May 13, 2025: On May 24, 1925, Pope Pius XI declared Madeleine Sophie Barat a saint of the Catholic Church. This momentous occasion marked the culmination of a long process of recognizing the extraordinary life and profound impact of the Foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
A fire in the town of Joigny, in France, led to St Madeleine Sophie Barat’s premature birth on December 12, 1779. Born in the midst of revolutionary turmoil, Sophie experienced violence at close quarters. Growing up in a world in crisis and in search of bearings, with her family marked by the image of a severe God, she gradually helped them and others, discover the tenderness of the Heart of Jesus. Sophie actualized this by letting herself be seized and transformed with a heart burning with love for Christ.
Graced with exceptional education for her time, she understood that education could best transform hearts and restore society, which is why she founded the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1800. Remaining rooted in the realities of her time, and being a woman of energetic action, she responded to challenges with courage and discernment, by opening her heart to the dimensions of the world, by walking in hope, with the Universal Church and in communion with all humanity.
What are the highlights that we want to cherish today as our legacy, as Society of the Sacred Heart, from our Foundress?
A woman of fire with tireless missionary zeal, a passion to help others discover God’s immense unconditional love, and with a deep flame sustained by prayer and union with God in the Holy Spirit; she warmed, enlightened, purified and impelled herself and others to act in God’s name. A rooted woman who grew up in a family of vine dressers, her sense of communion with all creation nourished her prayer life.
For her, education was about forming hearts, awakening to the beauty of self-giving, and preparing generations capable of acting in the world with intelligence and charity. She had a predilection for children and young people who were undisciplined, exiled or experiencing difficult family situations. Being a humble, audacious and discerning woman, Sophie asked for the grace to discern God’s unexpected in her life, and to mature her choices in His Light.
A forward-looking woman, thirsting for justice and communion, Sophie sensed the need to constantly adapt pedagogy and spirituality to different cultures and changing mentalities. Inclusivity mirrored her vision of embracing diversity and welcoming people from all backgrounds, into the love of God.
Radiating the Heart of Jesus, Sophie led the Society for 65 years. During the tenure of her leadership, the Society of the Sacred Heart grew to include more than 3,500 members, including 84 Sacred Heart boarding schools and 74 free schools. Madeleine Sophie died on May 25, 1865. She was canonized in 1925.
The Society of the Sacred Heart, also known as Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) is present in 43 countries today, where we nurture life in the face of uncertainties, by sharing Madeleine Sophie’s gifts of transcendence and depth, which she received from the Spirit. On August 20, 2024, Sister Claire Castaing, RSCJ from the Belgium-France-Netherlands Province was elected as the next Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for an eight-year term.
Our generalate is in Rome, from where she leads more than 1,800 members serving in a wide variety of ministries. The Society of the Sacred Heart was founded in the turmoil of post-Revolutionary France and its history is the story of strong and dedicated women true to the Society’s motto: Cor unum et Anima Una in Corde Jesu (One Heart and One Soul in the Heart of Jesus).
The heart on the cross that we wear, is portrayed as encircled by a crown of thorns. As with the wound in the heart, the crown of thorns reminds us that real love, faithful love, totally committed love for others, can lead to rejection and suffering, which we are invited to readily accept each day as Her true daughters.
The sword represents Mary’s sorrow at Jesus’ suffering, reminding us that without suffering we cannot grow, nor get the peace and joy we deserve. The sword invites us to embrace and cherish suffering, to look deeply into it, heal the wounds in our own heart and wounds in the world. For us RSCJ, spirituality and mission-fleshed out in the service of education are intimately linked. We seek to discover and reveal the love of Christ’s Heart to those whom that service is addressed.
In the midst of the world’s current violence and instability, and striving to secure connection with oneself, deep connection with God and a strong connection with the world, we RSCJ are invited today, to be workers not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are called to be prophets of a future, not our own. Through our contemplation of the pierced heart of Jesus, in the fractures and potentiality of our world, each of us is invited to add our tiny mite to build a world that reflects, Christ’s hope for humanity.
(Sister Mudita Menona Sodder lives in Sophia College Campus, College Community, Mumbai.)