29/06/2014
History of the Feast of the Sacred Heart
The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated on
August 31, 1670, in Rennes, France, through the efforts
of Fr. Jean Eudes (1602-1680). From Rennes, the
devotion spread, but it took the visions of St. Margaret
Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) for the devotion to become
universal.
In all of these visions, in which Jesus appeared to St.
Margaret Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus played a
central role. The "great apparition," which took place on
June 16, 1675, during the octave of the Feast of Corpus
Christi, is the source of the modern Feast of the Sacred
Heart. In that vision, Christ asked St. Margaret Mary to
request that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be celebrated
on the Friday after the octave (or eighth day) of the
Feast of Corpus Christi, in reparation for the ingratitude
of men for the sacrifice that Christ had made for them.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus represents not simply His
physical heart but His love for all mankind.
The devotion became quite popular after St. Margaret
Mary's death in 1690, but, because the Church initially
had doubts about the validity of St. Margaret Mary's
visions, it wasn't until 1765 that the feast was
celebrated officially in France. Almost 100 years later, in
1856, Pope Pius IX, at the request of the French
bishops, extended the feast to the universal Church. It
is celebrated on the day requested by our Lord-the
Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, or 19 days after
Pentecost Sunday.
