• National re-consecration of Ireland to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to take place on Sunday 22 June, in Knock Shrine

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we enter the month of June, the month which is dedicated by the Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I write to you with great joy and pastoral concern.  I meet people who are anxious and worried and am reminded to turn again to that source of eternal love which flows from the pierced Heart of Christ.  In the Sacred Heart, we find the peace our hearts long for, the truth our minds seek, and the love that our world so desperately needs.  The Lord who has a human heart, understands our personal human struggles in our relationships, families and every day lives.  He is the King of broken hearts.

We give thanks for the witness of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom the Lord revealed His Sacred Heart in Paray-le-Monial, and her spiritual director, Saint Claude de la Colombière, whose theological insight and spiritual wisdom helped spread this devotion.  The Sacred Heart called to them — as He calls to us — “Behold this Heart which has so loved people…”

In his 2024 Apostolic Letter Dilexit Nos (He Loved us First), Pope Francis reminded us that the devotion to the Sacred Heart is not a sentimental piety but a call to enter into the very mystery of God’s love, who first loved us.  “He loved us first,” the Pope says, “and He continues to love us with a pierced, burning Heart.”
This year marks the 350th anniversary of the first apparition of the Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary.   It is a moment of grace for the Universal Church.
 
A Legacy of Faith: Ireland and the Sacred Heart
It is a matter of both pride and gratitude that Ireland was the first nation in the world to be solemnly consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a historic act that took place in 1873.  This was not merely a ceremonial gesture, but a profound recognition that Jesus Christ is Lord of our land, our homes, and our hearts.

On Passion Sunday, 30 March 1873, an event of decisive importance marked the religious history of Ireland: the bishops of Ireland solemnly consecrated the Irish nation to the Sacred Heart.  Other countries had already consecrated themselves diocese by diocese, but Ireland was the first to do so as a nation.

One of the key figures in promoting the Sacred Heart in Ireland was Father James Cullen SJ (1841-1921).  Best known for his role in the fight against Irish alcoholism, Father Cullen founded the Pioneers’ Association for Total Abstinence in (1898) which also aimed to spread devotion and make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  

For centuries, amid persecution, famine, and great suffering, our ancestors clung to the Heart of Jesus as their refuge.  When churches were closed, the Mass forbidden, and Catholic families driven underground, the image of the Sacred Heart remained etched in their hearts and, when possible, on the walls of their homes.  The Sacred Heart beat with them in times of sorrow and sustained their hope through unimaginable trials.

Today, different trials face our society – trials not of hunger and exile, but of confusion, individualism, and ideologies that erode the sanctity of family life and human dignity.  The Sacred Heart remains our answer. He is not only a symbol of love, but of truth, of fidelity, and of divine mercy. Indeed devotion to Divine Mercy is a version of devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Refuge of the Immaculate
In 2025, in the parish of Clashmore, a new foundation will be born: the Refuge of the Immaculate Heart.  This small residential home will serve as a place of hope and healing for women suffering from addiction under the care of wonderful religious Sisters.  It will operate without state funding, relying entirely on Divine Providence and the generosity of the faithful.

I believe that this initiative was inspired by the Holy Spirit and the maternal tenderness of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
 
The Sacred Heart Today
Devotion to the Sacred Heart is not a relic of the past. How often do we hear a reference to the ‘heart’ in songs and poetry.   The Sacred Heart is a spiritual lifeline for our families, our youth, and our parishes today. In this most Sacred Heart, wounded and yet triumphant, we find the courage to resist the ideologies that diminish the importance of marriage, motherhood and fatherhood, the dignity of every person, and the sanctity of human life.

In June, the month of the Sacred Heart, I strongly encourage every family to:

• Pray daily to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, especially the Litany of the Sacred Heart (see below).
• Place an image of the Sacred Heart in your home.  Make your home a domestic church consecrated to Him.
• Trust in the promises He made to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque — especially the promise that “I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed and honoured.”
• Attend First Friday Masses, and if possible, spend time in Eucharistic Adoration.

Re-Consecration of Ireland to the Sacred Heart in June 2025
I warmly invite you all to a national re-consecration of Ireland to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to take place on Sunday 22 June, in Knock Shrine – our national Marian and Eucharistic shrine.  Let us come together as a people, old and young, rural and urban, to once again proclaim Jesus as King of our hearts and of our nation.

My prayer is that we all return, as individuals, families, and parishes, to the Heart that has never stopped loving us.  May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved in every home in Ireland.  The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has made reference to that line so full of meaning from Saint Augustine: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

Litany of the Sacred Heart