In a video message, Archbishop Alexander Sample reflected on the meaning and history of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, described the U.S. bishops’ decision to consecrate America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as “a way to recognize the kingship of Christ.”
“In his encyclical instituting the solemnity of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI, drawing on the teaching of Pope Leo XIII, commended the pious custom of consecrating the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a way to recognize the kingship of Christ,” Archbishop Sample said in the May 8 video message explaining the devotion.
“By celebrating this important national anniversary with this devotion, we have the opportunity to encourage all Catholics to honor Our Lord and to infuse the spirit of the Gospel into various communities and departments of life,” Archbishop Sample said.
Archbishop Sample’s message comes ahead of America’s 250th anniversary and after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted on Nov. 11, 2025, at the USCCB Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore to consecrate the U.S. to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The consecration will take place on June 11, according to the USCCB, which
