Sacred Heart, Enthronement of the
SACRED HEART, ENTHRONEMENT OF THE
As a ceremony, the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is public recognition and acceptance of the rule of the Sacred Heart of Jesus over the family. This is outwardly and permanently expressed by the solemn installation of the image of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place in the home and by an act of consecration to the Sacred Heart. As a permanent state, it means a way of life, in which love is fostered by the sharing of family interests with Christ and Mary through frequent renewal of the consecration to the Sacred Heart in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and by fuller liturgical life at home and in church. It is not limited to the home, but can be carried out in any institution.
As an organized social crusade, it began at Parayle-Monial, France, in the chapel of apparitions in August 1907. Encouraged by four popes from St. Pius X to Pius XII, Mateo crawley-boevey, SSCC, its founder, preached his crusade in all parts of the world. The Enthronement Crusade was inspired by the requests and promises of the Sacred Heart, especially these: "I will reign through My Heart" and "I will bless every place where the image of My Heart is singularly honored." The Enthronement combines these two requests by installing prominently the image of the Sacred Heart as a sign of the acceptance of the reign of the Sacred Heart in the home.
The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is derived from the recognition of the merciful love of God as manifested in the Old and New Testaments, teachings on Christ regarding the primacy of love and of His Kingship, and from realization of the dignity and importance of the family. It is a practical application, to the home, of the liturgy of the Feasts of the Sacred Heart, Christ the King, Corpus Christi, and the Holy Family. It is based on the four Sacred Heart encyclicals, Annum sacrum, Miserentissimus Redemptor, Quas primas, and Haurietis aquas. In a private letter to Father Mateo in 1917, Benedict XV gave formal approval to the Enthronement; this was renewed by Pius XII in 1948.
Bibliography: m. crawley-boevey, Jesus: King of Love (5th ed. Pulaski, Wis. 1963); Father Mateo Speaks to Priests on Priestly Perfection, tr. f. larkin (Westminster, Md. 1960). f. larkin, Enthronement of the Sacred Heart (2d ed. New York 1960).
[f. larkin/eds.]