Chapel of the Apparitions (Shrine of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque)
A shrine associated with St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque → Plan a trip hereThe Story
The Chapel of the Apparitions at the Monastery of the Visitation in Paray-le-Monial, Burgundy, is the place where, according to the traditional account, Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque between 1673 and 1675, making this quiet French town a worldwide center of devotion to the Heart of Christ. Margaret Mary, born in 1647, entered the Visitation monastery at Paray-le-Monial in 1671. Beginning on the feast of St. John the Evangelist in December 1673, she reported a series of apparitions in which Christ showed her his Heart, "which has so loved men," lamented the coldness with which his love was met, and asked for a feast in honor of his Sacred Heart, for Communion on the first Fridays of the month, and for a weekly Holy Hour of prayer. Her accounts were initially met with doubt, but her Jesuit confessor, St. Claude de la Colombiere, discerned their authenticity and became an apostle of the devotion. Over the following centuries the Church embraced it fully: the feast of the Sacred Heart was extended to the universal Church in 1856, Margaret Mary was canonized in 1920, and successive popes have commended the devotion, most recently Pope Francis in the 2024 encyclical Dilexit Nos, which recalls the Paray-le-Monial apparitions at length. The saint's relics rest in the chapel where the apparitions are said to have occurred, now a major pilgrimage shrine. Together with the nearby Romanesque basilica and the shrine of St. Claude de la Colombiere, it draws pilgrims year-round to the "city of the Sacred Heart" for adoration, confession, and renewal in the love of Christ.
Church Recognition
The apparitions to St. Margaret Mary belong to the historically approved devotions of the Church: her beatification (1864) and canonization (1920) ratified her testimony, the feast of the Sacred Heart was extended to the universal Church in 1856, and papal teaching from Haurietis Aquas (1956) to Dilexit Nos (2024) has confirmed the devotion.
Catholic Teaching
Devotion to the Sacred Heart honors the human and divine love of the incarnate Son (CCC 478), drawing the faithful to reparation, Eucharistic adoration, and trust in the mercy of Christ, whose pierced Heart is the wellspring of the Church's sacramental life.
Plan Your Visit
Practical
Additional Information
Pilgrims pray in the Chapel of the Apparitions, where the relics of St. Margaret Mary are venerated, visit the Romanesque Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the shrine of St. Claude de la Colombiere, and join the great summer sessions and processions; pilgrimage peaks around the feast of the Sacred Heart in June and the saint's October feast.
Go Deeper
The official sanctuary website (https://sanctuaires-paray.com) offers pilgrim information; deepen the devotion with the Autobiography of St. Margaret Mary, Pius XII's encyclical Haurietis Aquas, and Pope Francis's Dilexit Nos (2024).
Location
Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →Pilgrim Photos
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