1779-1865
- Born in Burgundy, France.
- Her brother (Louis), who was 11 years older than her, became her godfather at her Baptism. He, at first, wanted to become a priest but decided after a few years to be a deacon so that he could educate boys in the college near his home. When he realized that Madeleine could grasp difficult concepts easily, he decided that she needed to be educated as well as the boys were. He took it upon himself to give her the best education around. He could also see on top of her brilliance that she was feeling called to the religious life.
- BUT, in 1793, when Madeleine was 14 years old, the Reign of Terror began. It started by executing their king, Louis the XVI, then began forcing clergy to sign a document that said they would no longer listen to the Pope. Her brother had to flee because he refused to sign the anti-papal document, but he was arrested inParisand kept in prison for 2 years.
- In the meantime, Madeleine was left with her doting friends and parents. They loved both her beauty and charm, but the flattery from her social circle began to move her away from her profound devotion to Jesus.
- Her brother became worried about her when he heard about her losing her faith, so he had her move to Paris with him after he was released since the revolution had somewhat subsided. She and her brother connected with some of the few priests that were left (thousands of religious were tortured and/or killed).
- Since all of the Christian schools had been annihilated by the French Revolution, many children had nowhere to go, which troubled Madeleine and the priests that she hung out with.
- When a priest from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) heard about the excellent education that Madeleine had received, he talked to her and asked her if she would help him make some schools specifically designed to educate girls in the way that she had been educated. She could not ignore his request, so she took vows with three of her girlfriends and began creating schools for poor girls.
- For the first couple of years, another woman governed the schools, but she lacked organizational skills and had no devotion to Jesus. At 23 years old, the priests asked Madeleine if she could handle the job. She took the position, dedicating everything to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and was the superior of this new order for the next 63 years.
- By the time of her death, she opened more than one hundred houses and schools in twelve different countries, including some in the young United States.
- See “Authentic Femininity, Lived” for references
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