U.S. Catholic bishops consecrate nation to Sacred Heart

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops formally consecrated the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday, June 11, in a solemn liturgy marking the country’s 250th anniversary. The service, held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Florida, was a centerpiece of the bishops’ spring plenary assembly and represented the first such national consecration by the U.S. Catholic hierarchy.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the bishops’ conference, led the prayer of consecration. The liturgy included prayers of thanksgiving for national blessings, acknowledgment of historical failures such as slavery and racism, and petitions for healing, justice, and peace. Organ, brass, and choral music filled the modern shrine as rows of bishops in liturgical vestments participated. Before the Mass, attendees venerated relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the 17th-century French nun whose visions helped shape the modern devotion.

In homilies and reflections, bishops framed the act as one of spiritual entrustment rather than political assertion. Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore stated that the consecration was...