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| St. Margaret Mary Alacoque |
Margaret Mary Alacoque was born on July 22, 1647, near Verosvres in Burgundy, France. Her childhood included both religious devotion and considerable suffering. Her father died when she was eight, and a serious illness later confined her to bed for several years. During these difficulties, she found consolation in prayer. She understood her recovery as a grace associated with a promise to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would enter religious life.
In 1671, Margaret Mary entered the Visitation monastery at Paray-le-Monial. She made her religious profession on November 6, 1672. Her vocation took shape through community prayer, obedience, and ordinary work. While preparing for profession, she continued her assigned task of watching the monastery’s donkey and its young animal so that they would not damage the garden. The woman later remembered for extraordinary mystical experiences also lived the practical responsibilities of a cloistered sister.
Between December 1673 and June 1675, Margaret Mary reported a series of apparitions in which Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart. She described an overwhelming encounter with his love and his desire that people respond to it. The message included sorrow over human ingratitude and indifference. In words preserved from her account, Christ declared, “This is the heart that so loved human beings.” Her mission became closely associated with making that love better known.
According to her accounts, Jesus asked for particular expressions of devotion, including Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month and an hour of prayer on Thursday night in remembrance of his agony in Gethsemane. He also requested a feast honoring his Sacred Heart. These practices joined gratitude for Christ’s love with reparation for sin. They invited Catholics to respond through prayer, sacramental life, and a more faithful love of the Savior present in the Eucharist.
Her experiences initially met with doubts, and she needed guidance in discerning them. An important source of support arrived in 1675 with the Jesuit priest Claude de la Colombière, himself later canonized. He listened to her, examined her spiritual life, and supported the authenticity of her experiences. His counsel encouraged trust in Christ while keeping her rooted in humility and religious obedience. He also helped communicate the devotion beyond the monastery, giving assistance she could not have provided alone.
Margaret Mary continued living within her community as acceptance of the devotion gradually grew. In 1684, she became novice mistress, helping form younger sisters in religious life. At Father Ignace Rolin’s request, she wrote her autobiography in 1686. Her writings preserved the experiences and convictions that had shaped her vocation. Through teaching and correspondence, she encouraged others to give themselves to Christ and to answer his love with the offering of their own lives.
She died at Paray-le-Monial on October 17, 1690, aged forty three. Pope Pius IX beatified her in 1864, and Pope Benedict XV canonized her on May 13, 1920. Her feast is celebrated on October 16. Devotion to the Heart of Jesus had roots long before her lifetime, but her witness helped it spread throughout the world. Saint Margaret Mary’s enduring invitation is to contemplate the love of Christ, trust his mercy, and respond with a heart increasingly given to him.
For a devotional image of St. Margaret, click here: Maryvale Catholic Press
