{"id":698803,"date":"2026-06-12T01:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T01:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/698803\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T01:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T01:40:09","slug":"bishops-consecrate-united-states-to-sacred-heart-of-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/698803\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishops consecrate United States to Sacred Heart of Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t8<\/p>\n

ORLANDO, Fla. (OSV News) \u2014\u00a0A sea of white robes and zucchettos of pink and magenta in the pews. A statue of Jesus welcoming the faithful with his exposed Sacred Heart upon the foot of the altar.<\/p>\n

A setting fit for a June 11 Mass that united U.S. bishops gathered for their spring plenary June 10-12. After concluding the second of two days of public sessions, they left the Omni Resort in ChampionsGate for a half-hour drive up Interstate 4 for the spiritual refuge that is the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe<\/a> in Orlando.<\/p>\n

And the Mass was a momentous one as it served to formally consecrate the United States<\/a> to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley<\/a> of Oklahoma City incensed the altar after processing in from the thick humidity and cloudy skies of a typical Orlando afternoon outside the shrine. The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/a> was joined on the altar by bishops and deacons of the Orlando Diocese.<\/p>\n

\u201cClothe us, Lord God, with the virtues of the heart of your son, and set us aflame with his love,\u201d the archbishop prayed in opening the Mass.<\/p>\n

More than 200 bishops were present, along with about 150 observers, mostly benefactors and staff of the Diocese of Orlando. The monstrance used ahead of Mass for Eucharistic adoration was from the Servants of the Pierced Hearts, a Miami-based religious institute.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque \u2014 the French Visitation sister who experienced visions of Jesus revealing his Sacred Heart \u2014 were also present at the Mass, on loan for the consecration from the Knights of Columbus.<\/p>\n

In his homily, Archbishop William E. Lori<\/a> of Baltimore described the Sacred Heart of Jesus not as an \u201cabstract devotion,\u201d but as a \u201cvisible sign of love.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained why the Church consecrates. He described it as an act of faith and acknowledgment of the need for God\u2019s mercy, wisdom and guidance. It is also an act of hope. It is \u201ca heart that has known joy and sorrow, friendship and betrayal, suffering and sacrifice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The act of consecration is an act of faith and hope, the archbishop said, but it is also an acknowledgment of God\u2019s faithful work and love in the world and how we as people and as a Church have not always \u201cclearly reflected that love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori delivers the homily as the U.S. Catholic bishops consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Basilica of Mary Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., June 11, 2026, during their spring plenary assembly. (OSV News photo\/Bob Roller)<\/p>\n

Consecration is acceptance of Christ\u2019s invitation to remain in His love\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, it is sometimes obscured almost beyond recognition,\u201d the archbishop added. \u201cTo be sure, there have been moments of extraordinary witness and holiness. But there have also been moments of failure, division and sin. Consecration requires the humility to acknowledge both.\u201d<\/p>\n

And why the Sacred Heart? Because it reveals a savior who \u201cdesires not merely our obedience, but our friendship; not simply our service, but our communion with Him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo consecrate ourselves to the Sacred Heart is ultimately to accept Christ\u2019s invitation to remain in His love and to allow that love to shape every aspect of our lives, public and private,\u201d Archbishop Lori said. \u201cIt is a declaration that the future does not belong merely to political movements, economic forces, or human plans. The future belongs to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"U.S. Catholic bishops pray as they attend Mass and consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Basilica of Mary Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., June 11, 2026, during their spring plenary assembly. (OSV News photo\/Bob Roller)<\/p>\n

The act of consecration does not just happen among the shepherds, but also the sheep. In speaking to the laity both in the pews at the shrine and watching on the livestream, Archbishop Lori said the act of consecration is one the faithful and leaders do together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis consecration is not something the bishops do for you. It is something we do together,\u201d he said. \u201cThe renewal of the Church and our nation will not come through declarations alone.<\/p>\n

Transforming hardened hearts<\/p>\n

Renewal will come through disciples who remain in Christ\u2019s love and bear the good fruit of holiness in families, parishes, communities and in their daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sacred Heart reconciles divisions and transforms hardened hearts, the archbishop said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means building communities \u2014 ecclesial and civil \u2014 where truth is proclaimed clearly and charity is practiced generously. It means resisting the temptation to define ourselves by division, ideology or resentment,\u201d Archbishop Lori said. \u201cWe consecrate our nation, not because it is perfect, but because it is beloved by God. We entrust to the Heart of Christ our achievements and failures, our hopes and anxiety, our present challenges and our future aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jean Gonzalez, editor with Florida Catholic Media, is helping cover the bishops\u2019 spring plenary for OSV News.<\/p>\n

\"\"A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is displayed before the U.S. Catholic bishops consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Basilica of Mary Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., June 11, 2026, during their spring plenary assembly. (OSV News photo\/Bob Roller)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"8 ORLANDO, Fla. (OSV News) \u2014\u00a0A sea of white robes and zucchettos of pink and magenta in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-698803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}