Pope to write document on Sacred Heart for a world that 'has lost its heart'

By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis has announced he is preparing to write a document dedicated to that devotion to “illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal, but also to say something significant to a world that seems to have lost its heart.”

Speaking during the weekly General Audience - his first in June, the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart - he recalled that last 27 December marked the 350th anniversary of the first of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

He said that, on that date, celebrations for this devotion began in many countries across the world, and that they will conclude on 27 June next year.  

For this reason, the Pope said, he is preparing “a document that gathers the precious reflections of previous magisterial texts and a long history dating back to the Holy Scriptures, to reintroduce today, to the whole Church, this devotion full of spiritual beauty.”

“I believe it will be very beneficial for us to meditate on various aspects of the Lord's love that can illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal; but also to say something significant to a world that seems to have lost its heart,” he said.

Thus, Pope Francis asked believers to accompany him in prayer during this time of preparation, with the intention of making this document public next September.

Prayers for peace

At the General Audience, Pope Francis also renewed his appeal for peace in the world, asking the faithful to join him in prayer.

“We ask the Lord for the intercession of His Mother for peace,” he said, adding, as he has so many times, prayers for “Peace in tormented Ukraine, peace in Palestine, in Israel, peace in Myanmar...”

“Let us pray that the Lord may grant us the gift of peace and that the world might not suffer so much from wars,” Pope Francis prayed.