**The Sacred Heart of Jesus** is a devotion to the physical heart of Jesus as the symbol of His divine love for humanity. The devotion centers on Christ's unending love, mercy, and compassion. The devotion developed in the Middle Ages but was greatly promoted through the apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque at Paray-le-Monial, France (1673–1675). Jesus revealed His Heart to her, surrounded by flames, crowned with thorns, and surmounted by a cross, asking for love and reparation. Pope Pius IX extended the Feast of the Sacred Heart to the universal Church in 1856. Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart in 1899. **Feast Day:** Celebrated on the Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost (19 days after Pentecost Sunday).
Pilgrimage Sites Dedicated to Sacred Heart of Jesus
Quito
Ecuador · South America
First UNESCO World Heritage city with 17th-century apparitions of Our Lady of Good Success, the incorrupt Lily of Quito at the golden Jesuit church, and the Americas' largest neo-Gothic basilica.
Paray-le-Monial
France · Europe
Paray-le-Monial is the sacred site where Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, establishing it as a major Catholic pilgrimage destination.
Barcelona
Spain · Europe
Barcelona offers Catholic pilgrims extraordinary spiritual heritage with Gaudí's masterpiece Sagrada Família and ancient Gothic churches in Catalonia's historic heart.