New Pilgrim Icon Depicts Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Story by Karen A. Avitabile

A reproduction image of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is making its way around the world and may be viewed in parishes in the Archdiocese of Hartford this year.

This reproduction is one of more than 300 icons, each bearing the Apostolic Blessing of Pope Francis. It is the most recent addition to the Knights of Columbus traveling pilgrim icon program. The icons are currently traveling around the world as part of the Knights of Columbus Pilgrim icon program.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus pilgrim icon program was launched by the Knights of Columbus on Jan. 3 at St. Mary Church, part of Blessed Michael McGivney Parish in New Haven. During that prayer service, an icon depicting the most famous image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — painted by Pompeo Batoni in 1767 and now venerated in the Church of the Gesù in Rome — was displayed for veneration. It bears the blessing of Pope Francis through the Papal Almoner.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus pilgrim icon program also coincides with the 350th anniversary of the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French Catholic nun who gave the Church the Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart and the First Friday devotions.

In one of the apparitions, Jesus Christ told Alacoque: “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.” This quote is central to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic devotion. The heart refers to Jesus’ physical heart and his boundless love for mankind.

Pope Clement XIII officially recognized and approved the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1765, some 75 years after St. Alacoque’s death. In 1920, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was canonized by Pope Benedict XV. Today, she is recognized as the patron saint of people who suffer from polio, the loss of a parent and those who devote themselves to the Sacred Heart.

The publication of the fourth encyclical of Pope Francis, Dilexit Nos (He Loved Us), is devoted to the Sacred Heart. “In many ways, Dilexit Nos can serve as a mission statement for the Knights of Columbus in today’s world,” Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly says. “The pope observes that we live in a fragmented and divided society, but the heart of Christ is a unifying center. It is the source of truth and goodness that we all need.”

Archdiocese of Hartford priest and Knights’ founder Blessed Michael J. McGivney was deeply devotion to the Sacred Heart. His family displayed an ornate devotional plaque of the Sacred Heart in their Waterbury home. The plaque is still in the Knights’ possession and is on display in the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center in New Haven.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the 20th traveling pilgrim icon venerated through the Knights’ program since its formation in 1979. Our Lady of Guadalupe was the first pilgrim icon. Since then, the program has enabled more than 23 million people to honor Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints.

Parishes in the Archdiocese of Hartford should contact their local Knights of Columbus council to host the icon for veneration and schedule a Sacred Heart holy hour. For more information about the Knights of Columbus pilgrim icon program, visit kofc.org/sacredheart.