Margaret Mary Alacoque

Biography

Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) was a French Visitation nun whose visions of Christ's Sacred Heart profoundly shaped modern Catholic spirituality. Joining the Visitation convent at Paray-le-Monial in 1671, she experienced mystical encounters beginning in 1673, where Jesus revealed His desire for devotion honoring His wounded, burning heart. These visions included specific practices: the Holy Hour, First Fridays, and devotional imagery of the Sacred Heart. Initially dismissed by skeptical superiors and facing ecclesiastical scrutiny, Margaret Mary persisted with exemplary obedience and humility, documenting her experiences with theological precision. Her director, Claude de la Colombière, eventually validated her mysticism, and the devotion she promoted gained papal approval. Sacred Heart devotion expanded throughout Catholicism, becoming central to nineteenth-century piety. Margaret Mary's legacy demonstrates how authentic mystical experience, combined with institutional obedience and theological soundness, can generate movements transforming Catholic practice. Canonized in 1920, she remains venerated as the apostle of Sacred Heart devotion.