Relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque arrive in the US today
Relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque will be present in Orlando during the bishops’ gathering on June 11. The event marks the 250th anniversary of the United States’ consecration to the Sacred Heart. Bishops will also witness the Shroud of Turin exhibit at the same gathering. St. Margaret Mary, a French Visitation sister, received visions of Jesus’ Sacred Heart in 1673. The relics will be venerated as part of the national consecration ceremony.
4 months ago
Relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque arrived in the United States on June 2 2026 and will be displayed for veneration during the summer, culminating in their presence at the plenary assembly of U.S. bishops in Orlando, where the nation will be formally consecrated to the Sacred Heart 1.
The largest of the four reliquaries, containing the saint’s clavicle, two ribs and a portion of her brain, was shipped from the Visitation Monastery in Paray‑le‑Monial, France, to New York 1.
Arnaud Bouthéon, a lay leader of the Knights of Columbus in France, escorted the relics and noted that the case had to travel in the cargo hold of the aircraft 1.
Bouthéon encourages dioceses to arrange additional parish visits, emphasizing an educational presentation of relic veneration 1.
The Orlando bishops’ assembly will also feature the Shroud of Turin exhibit, adding another major Catholic pilgrimage attraction to the city 1.*
Investigate Catholic veneration of relics and Sacred Heart devotion
Catholic veneration of relics and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus are both expressions of the Church’s piety that aim to keep believers rooted in Christ, enlivened by the communion of saints, and guided by the liturgy—not by credulity or superstition.
Relics are not treated as magical objects. The Church’s documents describe them primarily as the bodies or notable parts of the bodies of the saints, who now dwell in Heaven, and therefore are still closely connected to the holiness they lived and to God’s action in and through them.
The Directory on Popular Piety explains that “the term ‘relics of the Saints’ principally signifies the bodies—or notable parts of the bodies—of the Saints” and further clarifies that the saints, as “Temples of the Holy Spirit,” now dwell in Heaven though they once lived on earth.
It also includes other categories:
A key Catholic principle is that relic veneration is meant to fit within the Church’s worship of Christ. The Directory explicitly links relics to the altar and to the Church’s liturgical communion.
It notes that the Roman Missal reaffirms the validity of placing the relics of the saints under an altar “even when not those of the martyrs,” explaining that this signifies the origin of the sacrifice of the members from the sacrifice of the altar, and symbolizes communion with Christ’s sacrifice.
The Ukrainian Catholic Catechism likewise describes how relics are mounted during consecration of an altar: relics are sewn into an antimension (signed by the local bishop), and this is tied to the communion of priest and community with the bishop—again showing relics integrated into the Church’s worship framework rather than replacing it.
The Ukrainian Catholic Catechism presents the early practice as celebrative and Eucharistic in character: Christians celebrated the Eucharist on the graves of martyrs, uniting living and dead, and regarded those places (with buried relics) as holy.
The Directory gives concrete examples of common devotional acts (kissing, processions, decorations with lights and flowers) and adds a crucial qualification: these practices do not exclude bringing relics to the sick and dying to comfort them and to seek healing through the saint’s intercession—provided this is done with dignity and motivated by faith.
At the same time, it lists pastoral safeguards:
The 2017 Instruction (“Relics In The Church: Authenticity And Preservation”) sets out a governance and authenticity framework precisely because relic veneration can be abused.
It states that relics “may not be displayed for the veneration of the faithful without a proper certificate of the ecclesiastical authority who guarantees their authenticity.”
It further describes how relics are preserved:
The same Instruction also restricts what can be publicly venerated depending on the stage of a cause (e.g., mortal remains of Servants of God/Venerables): until beatification or canonization, they may not enjoy public cult or privileges reserved to someone beatified/canonized.
The Instruction frames relics as honored because the bodies of the blessed and saints—destined for resurrection—are “the living temple of the Holy Spirit and the instrument of their holiness.”
The Church’s current guidance treats Sacred Heart devotion as Christ-centered—not as a localized spirituality detached from doctrine.
The Directory explains that, “understood in the light of the Scriptures,” the term “Sacred Heart of Jesus” denotes:
It goes on to define the Sacred Heart as Christ, the Word Incarnate, containing “in the Spirit, an infinite divine-human love” for the Father and for His brothers.
The Directory insists devotion has a scriptural connection. It highlights Christ’s invitation to communion, modeling one’s life on Him, and His self-description as “meek and humble of heart.”
It also connects the devotion to the Gospel of John:
This matters because it frames devotion as a “cultic form” of the Christian gaze on Christ pierced, from which blood and water flowed.
The Directory describes a historical need: at a time when Jansenism emphasized “the rigours of divine justice,” devotion to the Sacred Heart functioned as an “antidote,” awakening love for the Lord and trust in His infinite mercy symbolized by His Heart.
It adds that St. Francis de Sales adopted humility, gentleness, and tender mercy as models, and that other saints promoted the liturgical cult and devotion.
Pius XI (in Miserentissimus Redemptor) similarly presents the historical context: when charity grew cold and Jansenist teaching spread fear of God as an “implacable judge,” Jesus “showed his own most Sacred Heart” as a “standard of peace and charity.”
The Directory lists several devotional practices explicitly approved and frequently recommended, including:
But the Directory adds a pastoral warning: in modern times, first-Friday devotion—even when practiced correctly—may not always yield the desired fruits unless the faithful receive constant instruction, avoiding reduction to “mere credulity” and encouraging “active faith” so commitments are lived in Gospel terms.
It also insists on the absolute preeminence of Sunday as “the primordial feast,” requiring full participation at Holy Mass.
The Directory summarizes the devotion as a “historical expression of the Church’s piety for Christ,” and it calls for fundamental attitudes:
It states the devotion is recommended and renewed by the Holy See and bishops, and that renewal should affirm its:
Pope Francis’ encyclical Dilexit nos also emphasizes that multiple predecessors recommended this devotion—Leo XIII encouraging consecration, Pius XI calling it a “summa” of Christian faith experience, and Pius XII describing adoration of the Sacred Heart as an outstanding synthesis of worship owed to Christ.
Although relic veneration and Sacred Heart devotion focus on different objects, they share a common Catholic logic visible in the Church documents:
The Church’s own guidelines explicitly warn against superstition and illicit trade, and require authenticity and pastoral prudence with doubtful relics.
The Catholic Encyclopedia article provided discusses concerns about St. Margaret Mary’s visions and notes that, in approving the devotion, the Church “did not trust to the visions” alone and examined the worship “in itself,” while also discussing how judgments do not entail infallibility but aim for sufficient certainty.
(That said, the Catholic Encyclopedia is not magisterial; its relevance here is mainly to illustrate the kinds of concerns that the tradition responds to, while the Directory and papal documents remain the more direct governing sources.)
Catholic teaching and practice treat both relic veneration and Sacred Heart devotion as legitimate expressions of Christian piety when they are: