St. Madeleine Sophie Barat was born on December 12, 1770, in a town of Burgundy called Joigny. As one would expect in a place whose name is almost synonymous with wine, her father owned a small vineyard and was also a skilled cooper; I.e. he made wine barrels. Madeleine had a brother, Louis, eleven years older than she, and he was also her godfather. She had reached the age of ten when her brother was admitted to Major Orders and Priesthood. Since he was engaged as a teacher close to their home, he was able to supervise Madeleine's studies. Along with supervising her growth in piety her gave her a good grounding in Latin, Greek, History, Physics, and Mathematics. It would seem that he was a hard taskmaster, but her grounding was to be providential in her preparation for her life's work.

The family experienced the horrors of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Her priest brother had to flee their native city in an effort to escape the persecution of priests who rejected the civil interference in the affairs of the Church. He was arrested in Parish and spent two years as a prisoner with the possibility of execution. In the meantime, Madeleine continued her education. When her brother was finally set free, he was assigned to ministry in Parish. He arranged for Madeleine to be transferred to Parish so that he could resume his special supervision of her education. Included in her training were penance, study of the Bible, and the writings of the Fathers of the Church and Theology.

After the Revolution, Madeleine, feeling an attraction to the religious life, cooperated with her spiritual director, who was the Jesuit Superior, Father Varin. Suppressing her desire to be a Carmelite, Madeleine followed his advice and founded the Society of the Sacred Heart for the education of poor children. On November 21, 1800, she and three other girls took their first steps in the religious life in Amiens, France. She was elected first Superior of her nuns and held this office for sixty-three years. Among her early followers was Blessed Philippine Duchesne who would later introduce the Sacred Heart Nuns in America.

Although she was always very busy she gave the following advice: "Too much work is a danger for an imperfect soul, but for one who loves the Good Lord is can produce a great harvest." In December 1826 she presented her petition to Pope Leo XII to have her society receive the ecclesiastical approval and this was granted. By the time of her death, Sr. Madeleine had lived to see her Society established in twelve countries, and on May 21, 1865, she suffered a stroke. She died on May 25, the Feast of the Ascension.

In the year 1925, Sr. Madeleine was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XI. It was during that year the little mission church of St. Madeleine's was dedicated.