On May 26, 1865, Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat died. Of her, Mother Maddalena observed, “Our parents had been happy to confide their children to the Very Reverend Mother Barat, foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
She was the beloved teacher and friend of Mother Maddalena when she was a young girl, and St. Madeleine helped to shape the youthful Annetta Bentivoglio [the future Mother Maddalena] into the woman she became. St. Madeleine wrote:
'You will do good if you live in union with Our Lord, for then you will act by His spirit and with Him. . . I cannot exaggerate the effect produced upon children's souls by the spirit of prayer, and union with God.