Wednesday, 27 December 2023
At the opening of the Jubilee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on 27 December 27 2023, the Shrine of Paray-le-Monial joined the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. The Jubilee commemorates the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, initiator of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
The adhesion took place during the Eucharistic celebration of the Feast of St. John, which opened the Jubilee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio, in the presence of the bishops of the region, the Rector of the Shrine, the Parish Priest of Paray-le-Monial, the Jesuit Provincial, the local Jesuit community and several members of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, including the directors for France and Spain and the international director. Many other participants were present, including the leaders of the Emmanuel Community, the Bishop of Valladolid and several other representatives.
Fr. Etienne Kern, the Rector of the Shrine, presented the request for membership, emphasizing its missionary character. The Shrine commits itself to pray for the Pope’s prayer intentions, especially on the first Friday of the month, a day traditionally linked to the Heart of Jesus. It is also committed to promoting retreats according to The Way of the Heart. The International Director, Fr. Frederic Fornos SJ, welcomed with joy the request of adhesion of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, and thanked all those who have made this collaboration possible.
The spiritual foundation of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is the Heart of Jesus. Its way of proposing this devotion is called The Way of the Heart, which invites people to place themselves at the disposal of Christ’s mission, a mission of compassion for the world. The Way of the Heart helps people commit to pray and live the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church as expressed in the Pope’s prayer intentions.
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which is an ecclesial service of the Holy See, is made up of several entities: the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM), known in France, parish groups of the Apostleship of Prayer and various communities and shrines around the world. The Pope’s Prayer Network is present in 89 countries. It plays a coordinating and animating role at the global level, with countries and dioceses promoting prayer as a form of apostolate and welcoming the monthly prayer intentions proposed by the Holy Father, at the service of the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church.
The mission of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, known as the Apostleship of Prayer, has special links with Paray-le-Monial. It was not only with the help of the Jesuit Saint Claude La Colombière that Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque made known the depth of the mercy of the Heart of Jesus, but also, in her last vision, recognized by the Church, the Lord entrusted to the Sisters of the Visitation and the Fathers of the Society of Jesus the task of transmitting to all the experience and understanding of the mystery of the Sacred Heart. Two hundred years later, the Society of Jesus officially accepted this “pleasant mission” (munus suavissimum) by decree 46 of the 23rd General Congregation (1883) and then entrusted it, by decree 21 of the 26th Congregation (1915), to the Apostleship of Prayer, today the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
In December 2024, during the Jubilee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network will celebrate its 180th anniversary.
Presentation of the request for adhesion
Reception of the request for adhesion
How can a shrine or parish become part of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network?
