The Tradition of the Sacred Heart 4: St. Catherine and St. Margaret Mary

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) accomplished at great deal in her brief stay on this earth. She had a charismatic force of personality, much like St. Bernard, which could persuade others to see things her way. She moved in extraordinarily wide circles for an Italian woman in the fourteenth century. She influenced popes and wrote hundreds of letters.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) is the person with whom the Lord not only exchanged hearts, but subsequently commanded her to establish the “Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ” tradition. Like St. Catherine centuries before her, Margaret, a member of the Sisters of the Visitation in France, had dramatic encounters with Jesus, including an exchanging of hearts.