Feast Day: October 17 (Traditional Calendar: October 17 or 18)
Religious of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary
Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Early Life and Formation
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was born on July 22, 1647, in Verosvres, a small village in Burgundy, France. From a young age, Margaret was marked by a deep sensitivity to the things of God. Her early piety and love of prayer gave her the reputation of being unusually devout. After her father’s death, her family fell into poverty, and she endured much hardship at the hands of unsympathetic relatives. It was during this time of suffering that she developed a strong devotion to Our Lady and to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
At the age of nine, she was struck with a severe rheumatic illness that left her bedridden for four years. She vowed to the Blessed Virgin that if she were healed, she would consecrate herself to religious life. Upon her miraculous recovery, she soon became distracted by the world and delayed her vocation, drawn instead to the comforts of home and the entertainments of her social circle.
But God pursued her. After a profound mystical experience in which Christ revealed Himself to her, she returned with full resolution to her vow and entered the Order of the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial in 1671.
Religious Life and Mystical Graces
In the quiet cloister of the Visitation Monastery, Margaret Mary lived a life of hidden humility and obedience, despite frequent misunderstandings and humiliations from her sisters. The Lord tested her patience and humility, but also prepared her for a mission of great importance.
From 1673 to 1675, St. Margaret Mary received a series of revelations from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In these visions, Christ revealed His wounded Heart—burning with love for mankind yet pierced by indifference, sacrilege, and ingratitude. He chose Margaret Mary to be the herald of His love and to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart.
In one of the most famous apparitions, Our Lord said to her:
“Behold this Heart which has so loved men, that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they show Me in this Sacrament of Love.”
He requested a Feast in honor of His Sacred Heart, to be celebrated on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi, and reparation for sins committed against His love, especially through Communion of Reparation and the Holy Hour on Thursday nights.
Trials and Vindication
St. Margaret Mary’s claims of private revelations were met with skepticism. Many of her sisters and even her superiors doubted her. She bore these sufferings in silence and entrusted herself entirely to God.
Providentially, God sent her a spiritual director, Blessed Claude de la Colombière, a Jesuit priest of great sanctity and discernment. Recognizing the authenticity of her experiences, he became her defender and advocate. With his support, and through her unwavering humility and obedience, the devotion to the Sacred Heart gradually gained acceptance within her community and beyond.
Death and Legacy
After years of suffering, penance, and faithful witness, St. Margaret Mary died on October 17, 1690, at the age of 43. Her death was peaceful, and those around her were already convinced of her sanctity.
Though her mission was largely unrecognized in her lifetime, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus spread rapidly throughout France and across Europe after her death. In 1765, Pope Clement XIII approved the devotion. In 1856, Pope Pius IX made the Feast of the Sacred Heart a universal feast of the Church.
She was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.
Spiritual Legacy
St. Margaret Mary is honored as the Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a title that recognizes the central role she played in promoting this devotion which lies at the very heart of Catholic piety. Her revelations have profoundly shaped the Church’s understanding of the mercy and love of Christ, particularly as expressed in His desire for reparation and intimate union with souls.