Ohio bishop invites entire diocese to renew devotion to Sacred Heart of Jesus

An image of the Sacred Heart in the Church of the Jesu, in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 18, 2025 / 17:53 pm (CNA).

Bishop David Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, issued a pastoral letter this month inviting all clergy, religious, and laity in the diocese to rediscover their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during this jubilee year.

In his third pastoral letter, titled “Take Heart! Do Not Lose Heart! Behold the Sacred Heart!”, the bishop asked the faithful, when they enter their parishes, to be “intentional” about “acknowledging and praying to the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” 

“At this year’s chrism Mass, the Diocese of Youngstown gifted her priests with an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to display in their prayer space especially as they answer God’s call to serve with a shepherd’s heart.”

Bonnar also encouraged Catholics to “extend this same focus to the images of the Sacred Heart in our homes.”

In a press release, the diocese reported that the bishop said he was “inspired by Pope Francis’ last encyclical Dilexit Nos (‘He Loved Us’), which discusses the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ.” 

Bonnar also announced in the letter that on Sept. 28, the “diocese will celebrate an enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in every church,” corresponding with the end of the 350th Jubilee for the Sacred Heart.

The diocese reported in the press release that “the enthronement ritual involves veneration … of an image of the Sacred Heart to affirm the kingship of Jesus in the life of those participating.”

“During our upcoming clergy convocation, I will celebrate with our priests an enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Bonnar explained in the letter. “Together as a presbyterate, we will pray to the Sacred Heart for strength and grace as we teach, sanctify, and lead the people of God in our portion of the Lord’s vineyard always with a shepherd’s heart.”

“Together, as a community of believers, we will behold the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he wrote. “I pray that the life and love that flows from the Sacred Heart will empower us to be a more loving and unified Church.”

Bonnar’s letter also addressed how the election of Pope Leo XIV and his connection to St. Augustine has encouraged the “world to embrace and be embraced by the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

The bishop said his hope is that “this long, intentional gaze at Jesus and his Sacred Heart” will encourage “more vocations to the priesthood, consecrated life, and married life.”

“I also pray that our commitment to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will enliven us to open our hearts more to one another in a spirit of empathy, compassion, and forgiveness so that we ourselves embody the heart of Jesus,” he said.