"How could we ever forget the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, when Cardinal André Vingt-Trois installed the reliquary of St Madeleine Sophie Barat? The presence of this saint who created a new form of apostolic life, founded on interior life and union with the Heart of Christ, will remind each one of us of the beauty of the mission to educate youth; and I am sure that it will increase in us the desire for holiness." Mgr Patrick Chauvet (extract from the parish bulletin of June 2009).

"May Saint Madeleine Sophie continue to shed her light as she has in Belgium! It has been striking these last days how many people have come to tell her good-bye or to thank her, and I am sure she will continue to give the same truly motherly attention to those who turn to her. Under the châsse we found little slips of paper with intentions, and I believe that with her big heart she will not forget these causes."

“The idea of presenting a banner of the Sacred Heart came from all the heads of school of the Sacred Heart in France. (…) There are seven bands, representing the seven cities where there are Sacred Heart schools today. I wanted to separate the different parts of the logo, which I found a bit heavy, and to use other bright colors. So I worked with an art teacher in the school. To give the design a worldwide character, I decided to add meridians and parallels to represent the world, and then to add a symbolic phrase that expressed the spirit of the logo, the spirit of the Sacred Heart : ‘A heart open to the world’.”

From Doreen Boland rscj, Province of Ireland-Scotland,
in community in Joigny since 4 years :

"Finally came the great day of the Joigny's Parish Pilgrimage to Paris, to St. Francois Xavier Church, where Sophie was already quietly awaiting her large family. We were more than 50 Jovinians, ranging in age from the over 80's to the little Madeleine Sophie, whose parents brought the whole family up to Paris for the occasion. When we got under way, we had a Video about Sophie, which helped us to be even more in the spirit of the day. To the joy of the older Jovinians we were able to sing together the old hymn to Sophie which they used to sing long ago: ‘Sainte enfant de Joigny, Madeleine-Sophie' (...) Then as we approached Paris, we had a time of direct preparation for the celebration, and together we took up the words of the special hymns written for the occasion. We also read aloud a few passages from our Constitutions, focussing us all on the Heart of Jesus, since the Celebration would be centred on the Liturgy of the day. This too would certainly have been Sophie's wish, as she certainly would not have wished such a prestigious occasion to ‘honour' her.

There was a wonderful spirit of joyful communion and affection circulating in the Church during the time before the Ceremony began! In fact when we were sharing our experiences in our coach on the way home, the Archbishop, the Vicar General and our Parish priest all said how struck they were by this tangible love and friendship among us all.

Sophie must have loved seeing the large numbers of children and youth all taking part in the event... They were really superb, but so was the participation of the whole assembly - about 2000 people filled the Church - who joined willingly in the singing throughout.

After the Credo all the RSCJ came forward to the steps of the sanctuary, forming 3 or more large semi-circles. Florence de la Villéon (provincial of France) explained to the Assembly that it was the custom for RSCJ to renew their Vows on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and as there were many present from different countries, we would do this in the 3 official languages of the Society. For me, this was really a high-light of the Celebration. Once more, one could feel the current of love and communion flowing among us and the COR UNUM was certainly visible to the whole assembly. I was struck in particular by the JOY on the faces of all, and the Taize Magnificat was really exuberant! You can well imagine that the final song was an explosion of joy: JUBILEZ TOUS LES PEUPLES'.

Then people crowded around the Chasse to greet St. Madeleine Sophie... "l'humble Mère Barat". What did she think of it all? Well, it was so well planned that there was no doubt Who was at the centre of the Celebration... the Heart of Jesus her Beloved, and she could not but approve of that!

Julia Jamison, the English seamstress who made the orange stoles
worn by the RSCJ on June 19, tells her story :

I have just loaded 150 yards of orange polyester chiffon - I hate orange - into my battered little car... I have only a few weeks to make the 300 stoles that the Religious of the Sacred Heart will wear for the return of their holy founder, Madeleine Sophie Barat... St. Madeleine Sophie, pray for me!!!

Pretty soon I'm desperate, discouraged, I don't like orange; this fabric slips, it tears badly; it can't be ironed. I curse my friend who gave me this task, this "little job," as the English would say: I would rather call it "a big headache!".

And then I get the idea of confiding my work to the Lord; my heart is lighter, and my bobbins hum away, my needle flies, my scissors snip, and my foot dances on the pedal...I love orange; when I have finished this job, I am going to do over my living room in this gorgeous color of Fire, of Life, of Energy, of Enthusiasm...

"Lord, I am going to pray for each one of the nuns who will wear these stoles, these valiant women who will be present on June 19 and those who will follow the ceremonies in prayer that day from their beds or their armchairs. And I'll tell you a little secret: when one of the stoles "resists" a little, as when the thread breaks or the spool gets twisted or the scissors fall, I have the feeling that the sister for whom this stole is intended has a double need of prayer, so I am going to pray for her twice." I can say today that I feel like an alumna of the Sacred Heart! I know all your sisters.

" The celebration was really inspired; it was well organised. It was terrific, it was great.  We were impressed by the church, the people there, the celebration. The organ was terrific. We've heard about Sophie Barat at religious studies. One of her qualities was talking to children and teaching. It's very touching to hear about the Heart of Jesus and Sophie Barat. "

" I have come from New Orleans, and am in the repose day of a 30 day retreat in Joigny. It is amazing to see how St Madeleine Sophie embodies St Paul's words 'Glory be to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine', and to feel her spirit of immersion in the Heart of Christ as such an important, needed message in our world which is often governed by fear rather than love. "

We all feel united in Cor unum et anima una, as we await her. The Cardinal, bishops, priests, altar servers, all bow. Madeleine Sophie is here in our midst. She wants to pray with us. Many eyes are filled with tears.

The chorus of young people from Nantes sing hymns of praise. A second canonization? Visitation? Friendly visit? A desire to gather us around her as she did so often in her lifetime? Warm words flow from the altar. We renew our vows in three languages, sensing communion and the inexpressible Présence of the Lord and of the saints. Then the crowd of young and not so young move forward to see her, to confide in her, to rejoice. On the other side of the street, the multi-national crowd meets and mingles. Eyes met, hands clasp; here and there there are outbursts of joy. Has St. Madeleine Sophie not assembled us here today on the feast of the Sacred Heart, June 19, 2009, to tell the whole troubled world that she still counts on her family?