"Where Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to a Visitation nun, birthing a worldwide devotion"
Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Paray le-Monial
Paray-le-Monial, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
In a convent chapel in Burgundy, between 1673 and 1675, a young Visitation nun named Margaret Mary Alacoque received approximately thirty apparitions of Jesus Christ. In these visions, Christ revealed his Sacred Heart—burning with love, wounded by human indifference—and requested devotions that would spread across the Catholic world. Her body now rests in the Chapel of the Apparitions; over 100,000 pilgrims visit annually.
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Quick Facts
Location
Paray-le-Monial, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
Coordinates
46.4519, 4.1208
Last Updated
Jan 18, 2026
Learn More
Paray-le-Monial is the origin point of Sacred Heart devotion, where documented apparitions to Margaret Mary Alacoque generated practices now universal in Catholic life.
Origin Story
Margaret Mary Alacoque entered the Visitation Monastery in 1671 at age twenty-four. Between December 1673 and June 1675, she received approximately thirty apparitions of Christ, who revealed his Sacred Heart and requested specific devotions: First Friday communion, Holy Hour on Thursdays, a feast of the Sacred Heart. With help from her confessor Claude de la Colombière, the devotion spread.
Key Figures
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Visionary who received Sacred Heart apparitions (1647-1690)
Saint Claude de la Colombière
Jesuit confessor who recognized and spread the devotion
Pope Benedict XV
Canonized Margaret Mary in 1920
Spiritual Lineage
Cluniac foundation (basilica). Visitation Order (convent). Now entrusted to Emmanuel Community. Connected to worldwide Sacred Heart devotion.
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