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2d ago

U.S. Catholic Bishops Consecrate Nation to the Sacred Heart

Bishops framed the act as a pastoral call to repentance and service that speaks to the church’s role in America’s 250th year.

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 held a liturgy consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an event that organizers said took place on June 11 during the spring assembly in Orlando.
  • Leaders described the service as the first national consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart and used relics of 17th‑century St. Mary Margaret Alacoque to connect the ceremony to the devotion’s history.
  • The White House issued a statement saying President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump 'join in prayer' with the bishops, a public show of solidarity noted by multiple outlets.
  • Earlier that day bishops approved modest revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People by a 176‑22 vote that preserve the ban on priests found to have abused children while adding clearer language about due process and presumption of innocence for the accused.
  • Advocacy groups criticized the charter vote as premature and not sufficiently trauma‑informed, and commentators said the combined liturgical and policy moves could sharpen public attention on ties between Catholic leaders and political actors during the semiquincentennial year.