to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus — June 11, 2026
On the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Bishops of the United States will give the nation to the Heart of Christ — the first such consecration in the country's history.
On June 11, 2026, the Catholic bishops of the United States will consecrate the nation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. They do this to mark the country's 250th anniversary — the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
It has never been done before. The bishops voted for the consecration in November 2025, with 215 in favor, and have placed it under the banner We Hold These Truths — honoring the Catholic faith woven through the story of this country. The act will take place during their assembly in Orlando, after a concelebrated Mass, and will be broadcast live for the whole Church to join.
To consecrate something is to set it apart and give it wholly to God. The Sacred Heart is the love of Christ made visible — pierced, faithful, and unfailing. To place a nation in that Heart is to confess that a people's strength is not its own, to ask mercy for its sins, and to beg protection for its homes.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart has steadied Catholic men for centuries. It asks for three things: reparation for sin, trust in His mercy, and a life ordered to Christ. Pope Francis gave the whole Church a meditation on this same Heart in his 2024 encyclical Dilexit Nos — “He Loved Us.”
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You.
The whole Church has been asked to prepare. A man can lead here — in his own prayer, and at the head of his household.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to You I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring, and glorifying You. This is my irrevocable will: to belong entirely to You, and to do all for Your love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease You.
I take You, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty, the reparation for all the faults of my life, and my sure refuge at the hour of my death.
Be, then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God the Father, and turn away from me the strokes of His just anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in You, for I fear everything from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Your goodness. Amen.
Traditional Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, attributed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. The bishops' official prayer, novena, and parish resources are at usccb.org.