Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Feast of the

May-June; second Saturday following the second Sunday after PentecostIt was St. John Eudes who initiated the worship of the Holy Heart of Mary in 1648 by composing a Mass and Office, although the feast failed to be approved by the Congregation of Rites in 1669. Repeated requests over the years for official recognition of the feast were reinforced in 1917 when the Virgin Mary appeared at Fátima, Portugal, and expressed her wish that the devotion be established so that Russia would be saved.
On October 31, 1942, the 25th anniversary of the appearance at Fátima, Pope Pius XII consecrated the entire human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and two years later, a feast under that name was established for August 22, octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. ( See also Our Lady of Fátima Day.) It was moved to its present date in 1969. Roman Catholics observe this day in honor of Mary and to obtain her intercession for world peace and the practice of virtue.
CONTACTS:
The Mary Page
Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute
University of Dayton
Dayton, OH 45469
937-229-4214; fax: 937-229-4258
www.udayton.edu
SOURCES:
RelHolCal-2004, p. 97