This is a special feast day for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. While the devotion to the Sacred Heart has roots in the early Church, it was popularized by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM, a spiritual daughter of St. Francis de Sales and a Visitandine nun. The Visitation order was founded by St. Francis and St. Jane de Chantal.
All Oblates concentrate themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus every first Friday of the month so that they might unite their hearts with Christ and more deeply "Live Jesus."
The Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us of God’s love and mercy for humanity. Salesian Spirituality teaches that devotion is the human heart longing to beat in rhythm with the heart of God, in “heart to heart” communication. Thus, the Oblates strive to “Live Jesus” as portrayed in the Gospel of Matthew: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.”
The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Who is St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM?
Consecrated Religious, Mystic, Beloved Disciple and Apostle of the Sacred Heart
Canonization: May 13, 1920
Feast day: October 16
In Christian history, focus on the Heart of Jesus originates with the Gospels and is subsequently developed by the Church Fathers, mystics, and spiritual writers, including the founders of the Salesian spiritual tradition—St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) and St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641). Margaret Mary Alacoque was the heir to this rich spiritual heritage. However, the revelations of the Sacred Heart, made between December 1673 and June 1675, to this young Visitandine nun ushered in a new—liturgical—phase of devotion to the Lord’s Heart, and was also the catalyst for its spread on a global scale.
Margaret Mary belongs to a long ecclesial tradition of women mystics-apostles, whom the Lord calls upon to expand humanity’s knowledge of His plan for salvation history…
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque’s Relics on Tour in the US
The relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque are in the United States as part of the nation’s 250th celebration. They will remain in the U.S. until September. As part of their plenary assembly in Orlando from June 10-12, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the eve of this special feast day. Four reliquaries allow St. Margaret Mary's relics to be taken around the world for veneration. The American pilgrimage coincides with the U.S. release of a French documentary on the Sacred Heart. Released in France in October 2025, the documentary film depicts the apparitions of Christ and the revelations received by St. Margaret Mary. You can read full story from National Catholic Reporter here.
The Visitation Sisters & The Oblates…
The Oblates have a special relationship with the Visitation Sisters. The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal in 1610. Approximately 250 years later Bl. Louis Brisson, OSFS, was formed and nurtured in the Salesian spirit by a Visitandine, Venerable Mother Mary de Sales Chappuis, VHM. Together they dedicated themselves to revitalizing French Catholicism and later founded the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.
Salesian Reflections on the Sacred Heart:
Quotes from St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM
"Keep your heart in peace and let nothing trouble you, not even your faults. You must humble yourself and amend them peacefully, without being discouraged or cast down, for God's dwelling is in peace."
"I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of God."
"But above all preserve peace of heart. This is more valuable than any treasure."
"All for the Eucharist; nothing for me."
"If you feel yourself frail and weak, lapsing into faults at every moment, go to the Sacred Heart and draw from it the strength which will invigorate and revive you."
"Let us begin in earnest to work out our salvation, for no one will do it for us."
"Let every knee bend before Thee, O greatness of my God, so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host. May every heart love Thee, every spirit adore Thee and every will be subject to Thee!"
"Lord Jesus, let my heart never rest until it finds Thee, who are its source, its love and its happiness."
The Visitation Sisters are largely responsible for the existence of the Oblates. It was a Visitation Sister, Mother Marie de Sales Chappuis, who strongly urged and supported Bl. Louis Brisson in founding the Oblates. Just as Saints Jane de Chantal and Francis de Sales worked closely together, the Oblates and Visitation Sisters continue the tradition with close collaboration.
Reflections on the Visitation Order:
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, we religious, Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, come to consecrate to you our persons, our lives, and our new Province. We give you our actions, our desires, our troubles, and our sufferings. We give you our apostolates, our foundations, our benefactors, our friends, and our families. We wish to live only to honor and love you and bring you glory.
We have made a decision we will not change: to belong completely to you, to do everything for love of you, and to renounce wholeheartedly all that can displease you. It will always be our heart’s desire, and the aim of our efforts, to love you more and more, and also to make you known, loved, and served by those to whom you send us.
Therefore, we take you, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, as the chief object of our love. As the one who protects our life, guards our apostolates, and provides a remedy for our incompetence, our unfaithfulness, and our instability, and makes satisfaction for all the deficiencies in our actions - in a word, as the one who answers for us, our All-Powerful Aid during life, and our Secure Refuge at the hour of our death. We know this, O Sacred Heart of Jesus! You are the faithful friend, the intimate friend of the soul. You are the one who never deceives or betrays. You are also our heritage and our possession. We entrust ourselves to you.
Above all, give us love. Bind our hearts and bring us together as one. May these hearts which you have brought together in your Name, and that of your Holy Mother, be not scattered; those whom you have called together be not dispersed, and those whom you have joined together be not separated. Grant rather that the names of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales be written forever in the Book of the Living with the Just who reign with you in the life of unceasing happiness. So be it. Amen.
May God be Praised!