Church celebrates Saint Margarita María Alacoque

The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque on October 16. A French religious sister, she is recognized for her role in spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus following mystical revelations she reported receiving from Jesus Christ.

Born in Verosvres, France, on July 22, 1647, to Claude Alacoque and Philiberte Lamyn, she expressed a desire to consecrate herself to God at age four. After losing her father in 1655, she entered an institution of the Hermanas Clarisas Pobres de Charolles. Following a four year period of illness, she joined the Order of the Visitation in Paray-le-Monial, France, on June 20, 1671.