On October 24, Pope Francis published the encyclical Dilexit Nos: On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ. The document examines the history of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which traces its roots to a series of visions received by French nun Margaret Mary Alacoque from 1673 to 1675. Pope Francis also emphasizes the continued relevance and importance of devotion to the Sacred Heart in our own time, citing a need for constancy in the Church’s devotions and actions in an age increasingly defined by fluidity, change, and upheaval.
Dilexit Nos is the fourth encyclical published by Pope Francis, the last being Fratelli Tutti, published on October 3, 2020. The full document can be read here: