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U.S. Bishops Consecrate Nation to the Sacred Heart

The White House said President Trump and First Lady Melania join in prayer, a public show that many see as a sign of closer political ties with the Catholic hierarchy.

Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gather for their spring meeting on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
U.S. Catholic bishops are seated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., for a service Thursday, June 11, 2026, consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart upon the nation's 250th anniversary. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
A box containing relics of the 17th century St. Mary Margaret Alacoque, a French nun whose reports of visions of Jesus has led to the modern devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, stands Thursday in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., before a service in which U.S. Catholic bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart upon the nation's 250th anniversary. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
A bishop venerates relics of the 17th century St. Mary Margaret Alacoque, a French nun whose reports of visions of Jesus has led to the modern devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., before a service Thursday, June 11, 2026, in which U.S. Catholic bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart upon the nation's 250th anniversary. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)

Overview

  • The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday in Orlando, using relics of St. Mary Margaret Alacoque and prayers that explicitly acknowledged the nation’s history of slavery and racism.
  • Hours after the liturgy the White House released a statement saying President Trump and Melania join in prayer with the bishops, a gesture some clerical figures described as unprecedented for the administration.
  • Earlier in the same assembly the bishops approved modest revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People by a 176-22 vote, adding due-process language for accused priests while keeping bans on ministry for confirmed abusers.
  • Advocacy groups and some bishops criticized the charter changes as a missed opportunity for wider input and more trauma-informed protections, and they called for careful review as dioceses adopt the revisions.
  • This was the first national Sacred Heart consecration in the United States and it ties devotional history to the country’s 250th anniversary, raising questions about how the ritual could reshape church-state relations and influence parish-level practice.