The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an essential part of who we are as Catholics and what is passed along to future generations.
Celebrated by the Universal Church on June 27, 2025, on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave, the Solemnity “reminds the faithful that Jesus is our friend for life,” said Bishop Frank J. Dewane. “The Lord wants us to be friends. The Sacred Heart of Jesus challenges us to overcome secularism, materialism, and social injustice. It is adopted as a way to address the love of Christ for the poor, the least among us. It is a modern way of thinking.”
In terms of secularism, where society tries to exclude religious viewpoints in public discussions, Bishop Dewane said that is precisely when we must speak out, because it is who we are as Catholics, called to reflect the light of Christ in the world.
Bishop Dewane reflected that this Solemnity has had a significant impact in the areas of art and culture. “You can find it in the stained glass of churches throughout the world. It is always there, depicting Jesus’ flaming heart on the outside of His body – a physical manifestation of His love for us all.”
The modern devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus came in 1673 from St. Margaret Marie Alacoque, a cloistered nun and mystic of the Visitation order. She had private visions and promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, all aflame with love, as the healing remedy for a world full of cold hearts and broken hearts.
During her visions, Sister Margaret Mary learned ways to venerate the Sacred Heart of Christ. These devotions included the concept of a Holy Hour on Thursdays, the creation of the feast of the Sacred Heart after Corpus Christi, and the reception of the Eucharist on the first Friday of every month.
In 1856, after lobbying by French Bishops on behalf of the feast of the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius IX designated the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart for the entire Latin-rite Church. On May 25, 1899, Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical Annum Sacrum, which consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Diocese of Venice is blessed to have two Parishes named for the Sacred Heart, one in Bradenton, the other in Punta Gorda. Each serves their growing communities imbued with the spirituality of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In addition, the Sacred Heart of Jesus will be the focus for the annual Diocese of Venice Catholic School Devotional Project for the 2025-2026 school year.
