The Sacred Heart

Although devotion to the love of God existed in the early Church from the time of the Evangelists, the image of the Sacred Heart, as embodying that of love, first was revealed to Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. Her spiritual director was the Jesuit Father, Claude la Colombiere. It is often depicted surrounded by a crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross and a flaming with divine Love, and backed by a second cross which shines with additional divine power and topped by a second crown.