Since the first centuries of Christianity, there has been a desire to meditate on the pierced Heart of Christ, a practice that has its roots in Sacred Scripture and found depth in the reflections of the Fathers of the Church.
When the 11th century arrived, devotion to the five wounds of the Lord took on new impetus, with piety for the Sacred Heart or the wound on Jesus’ shoulder growing among the faithful, among other private devotions.
All of them helped Christians to focus on His Passion and Death so that they could grow in love towards Him.
However, it was not until 1670 that the French priest John Eudes celebrated the first feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Around the same time, a nun known for her piety, Sister Margarita MarÃa Alacoque, began reporting that she was having visions of Jesus. He appeared to her frequently and, in December 1673, she allowed him – as she had once allowed Saint Gertrude – to rest his head on her Heart.
As she experienced the comfort of her presence, Jesus spoke to her of his great love and explained that he had chosen her to make known his love and goodness toward humanity.
The following year, in June or July 1674, Margaret Mary stated that Jesus wanted to be honoured under the figure of his heart of flesh. She asked the faithful to receive him frequently in the Eucharist, especially on the first Friday of each month, and to practice a holy hour of devotion.
In 1675, during the octave of Corpus Christi, Margaret Mary had a vision that later became known as the “great apparition.”
In it, Jesus asked that the feast of the Sacred Heart be celebrated every year on the Friday following Corpus Christi, in reparation for the ingratitude of men towards his redemptive sacrifice on the Cross.
The devotion became popular after the death of Saint Margaret Mary in 1690. However, because the Church is always careful to approve a private apparition or devotion, the feast was not established as official throughout France until 1765.
On 8 May 1873, devotion to the Sacred Heart was formally approved by Pope Pius IX, and 26 years later, on 21 July 1899, Pope Leo XIII urgently recommended that all bishops in the world observe the feast in their dioceses.
Originally published in the National Catholic Register on 19 June 2020. It has been translated, adapted and updated for republication.