| Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus | |
|---|---|
 18th century depiction of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Louis Gonzaga with the Sacred Heart by José de Páez | |
| Observed by | Catholic Church Western Rite Orthodoxy[1] |
| Date | Friday after the second Sunday afterPentecost (68 days afterEaster) |
| 2025 date | June 27 |
| 2026 date | June 12 |
| 2027 date | June 4 |
| 2028 date | June 23 |
| Related to | Sacred Heart Sunday |
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TheFeast of the Sacred Heart is asolemnity in theliturgical calendar of theRoman Rite of theCatholic Church.[2] According to theGeneral Roman Calendar since 1969, it is formally known as theSolemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Latin:Sollemnitas Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu) and celebrated on the second Friday afterTrinity Sunday(see§ Date, below).[3] Some Anglican Franciscans keep the feast under the name of theDivine Compassion of Christ.[4][5]
The first liturgical feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated, with episcopal approval, on 31 August 1670, in the major seminary ofRennes,France, through the efforts ofJohn Eudes.[6] TheMass andOffice composed by Eudes were adopted elsewhere also, especially in connection with the spread of devotion to the Sacred Heart following on the reported revelations toMargaret Mary Alacoque andMary of the Divine Heart.
In June 1675, according to Margaret Mary Alacoque of theOrder of the Visitation of Holy Mary atParay-le-Monial,France, she had a vision ofJesus Christ in which he asked her "that the first Friday after the octave of theBlessed Sacrament be dedicated to a particular feast to honor my heart, by receivingcommunion on that day and makingreparation to it by honorable amends, to repair the indignities it received during the time it was exposed on the altars".[7]
In 1726 Rome was again asked for a feast with a Mass and Office of its own; this was refused in 1729, but granted in 1765. In that year, at the request ofthe queen, the feast was received quasi-officially by theepiscopate of France. A Mass of the Sacred Heart won papal approval for use in Poland and Portugal in 1765, and another was approved for Venice, Austria and Spain in 1788.
In 1856, at the entreaties of the French bishops,Pope Pius IX extended the Feast of the Sacred Heart to the Latin Church under the rite of double major. It was to be celebrated on the Friday after theOctave ofCorpus Christi. In June 1889,Leo XIII raised the feast to the dignity of the first class.[8] In 1928, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the highest rank, double of the first class, and added anoctave; the 1955 reforms of theGeneral Roman calendar suppressed, among others, the octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. With the liturgical changes in 1969, the feast was assigned the highest rank ofsolemnity.
The Mass prayers and readings approved on that occasion were replaced with new texts in 1929, and the lectionary published to accompany the 1970Roman Missal provides three sets of readings, one for each year of the festive three-year liturgical cycle.
Priests may use this Mass, celebrated with white vestments, as aVotive Mass on other days also, especially on the first Friday of each month (unless falling on a day of higher rank). On this first Fridays it is also common to hold anEucharistic adoration for a few hours (seeFirst Friday devotion).
InAustria andSouth Tyrol, the so-calledSacred Heart Sunday, that is the Sunday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart, is also celebrated. Numerous processions take place on this day.Sacred Heart Fires are lit in the Bozen (Bolzano) area of Italy, among others.
Since 2002, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is also a special day of prayer for the sanctification of priests.[9] In 2009, the feast marked the beginning of a "Year for Priests".[10]
TheFeast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary immediately follows on Saturday.[11]
The solemnity is celebrated on the second Friday following Trinity Sunday.[12] The earliest possible date is May 29, as in 1818 and 2285. The latest possible date is July 2, as in 1943 and 2038. Therefore, it is the last feast date of the year dependent on the date ofEaster.
In places where theSolemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is perpetually transferred from Thursday to Sunday (such as the United States and United Kingdom), it will appear on the local calendar as the Friday after the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.[12][3]
The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests – is celebrated on the Friday after the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. This suggests to us that the Eucharist (Corpus Christi) is none other than the Heart of Jesus himself, of the One who "takes care of us" with his "heart".
