Nine Masses leading up to the Feast of the Sacred Heart will be celebrated in the diocese beginning Wednesday, June 3.
The nine days, or novena, of liturgies and prayer will be offered in conjunction with the consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which will take place Thursday, June 11, the vigil of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, which falls on June 12 this year.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was established as a universal feast in 1856. The moveable feast is celebrated the Friday after Corpus Christi (Eucharist) Sunday.
U.S. bishops will consecrate the country to Christ’s Sacred Heart this year as part of a 250th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Parishes across the country are encouraged to join the bishops in celebrating the nation’s consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Columbus diocese will support the bishops’ desire to consecrate the United States ahead of the feast of the Sacred Heart with Masses taking place throughout the 23-country diocese.
RELATED | Sacred Heart billboards will be seen throughout Columbus area – The Catholic Times
The novena will begin with a 7 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Earl Fernandes at New Albany Church of the Resurrection on Wednesday, June 3, the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Ugandan martyrs for the faith. Ugandan priests in the diocese, Fathers Denis Kigozi, pastor at Delaware St. Mary Church, and Father PeterClaver Kasasa Kiviiri, parochial vicar at Church of the Resurrection, will concelebrate.
The novena will continue with a 7 p.m. Mass on Thursday, June 4 at Columbus Sacred Heart Church. A Spanish Mass will be celebrated at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 5 at Columbus Christ the King with dinner and entertainment to follow.
An 8:45 a.m. Mass will be celebrated at Cardington Sacred Hearts Church the morning of Saturday, June 6. The following day, the novena will continue at New Philadelphia Sacred Heart Church with a 5 p.m. Sunday Mass celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi.
Masses will continue Monday, June 8 at 4 p.m. at Columbus St. Christopher Church, preceded by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet with Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament beginning at 3 p.m. The sacrament of reconciliation will also be offered.
Continuing at Chillicothe St. Peter Church, part of Chillicothe Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles Parish, Mass will be celebrated at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 and at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10 at Lancaster Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption.
A Mass with special recognition of African communities in the diocese will be held Thursday, June 11 at Columbus St. Aloysius Church.
The final Mass of the novena is set for 7 p.m. Friday, June 12, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church celebrated by Bishop Emeritus James Griffin. A reception will follow.
The consecration, announced November 11, 2025, is a monumental moment in the Church. It is the first time the country will be consecrated to the Sacred Heart by the conference of U.S. Bishops.
The bishops will consecrate the country in Orlando, Florida, at the Church of Mary, Queen of the Universe Basilica and National Shrine. The ceremony will be livestreamed for faithful unable to attend.
More than a century ago, on June 11, 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He prescribed consecration for the universal Church in his encyclical, Annum Sacrum.
The late Holy Father wrote that his “empire extends not only over Catholic nations and those who, having been duly washed in the waters of holy baptism, belong of right to the Church; … it comprises also all those who are deprived of the Christian faith, so that the whole human race is most truly under the power of Jesus Christ.”
With the U.S. consecration, in response to the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth, faithful are encouraged to do works of mercy and pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
Catholics can spiritually participate by uniting their hearts with the bishops’ desire that faithful welcome the reign of Christ more perfectly in their lives by joining in prayer, such as praying the Novena of the Sacred Heart. The nine days of prayer, drawing from the Litany of the Sacred Heart, include reflections from the saints and pontiffs.
Individuals and families can consecrate their homes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network, a non-profit organization based in Columbus. Information is available through the network’s outreach apostolate, Welcome His Heart, at www.WelcomeHisHeart.com.