Pope to write document on Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pope Francis told the Spanish bishops that he will publish an apostolic exhortation on this devotion in September.

Pope Francis will publish an apostolic exhortation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus in September, the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE), Archbishop Luis Argüello, said on May 31, 2024, after having an audience with the Pontiff at the Vatican.

The archbishop announced the Pope’s plans at a press briefing held in St. Peter’s Square by Archbishop Argüello.

Accompanied by Cardinal José Cobo Cano, vice-president of the CEE and archbishop of Madrid, and secretary, Monsignor Francisco César Garcia Magan, the archbishop had just completed a 40-minute audience with the Pope. The purpose of the meeting was to present the Pope the new leadership of the Spanish bishops’ conference, which was elected last March.

“He said he would publish an apostolic exhortation on the Heart of Jesus in September,” said the Spanish archbishop, without adding any further details on the nature of this text.

This would be Pope Francis’ eighth apostolic exhortation, following

C’est la confiance about St. Thérèse (2023),
Laudate Deum on the climate crisis (2023),
Querida Amazonia about the Amazon region (2020),
Christus vivit, addressed to youth (2019),
Gaudete et exsultate about the call to holiness (2018),
Amoris laetitia about love in family life (2016) and
Evangelii gaudium about proclaiming the Gospel (2013).

Historical devotion

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is often depicted as a flaming heart, sometimes with a crown of thorns and a small cross. Devotion to this symbol dates back to the Middle Ages, and was popularized in the 17th century by St. John Eudes and then St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (after an apparition at Paray-le-Monial).

A solemnity of the Sacred Heart was instituted by Clement XIII in 1765, then extended to the universal Church by Pius IX in 1856. It is celebrated on the third Friday after Pentecost – June 7 this year.

Symbol of God’s mercy

During a meditation delivered before praying the Angelus a few weeks after his election in 2013, Pope Francis described the Heart of Jesus as “the ultimate symbol of God’s mercy.”

“It is not an imaginary symbol; it is a real symbol which represents the center, the source from which salvation flowed for all of humanity.”