Devotions in June Glorify the Humanity and Divinity of Christ
During June 2026, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa will join Catholics worldwide in celebration of two cornerstones of the Catholic Faith — the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) and the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. On these feasts, we are reminded that the Lord exists as both God and man, remaining with us spiritually and substantively.
On Corpus Christi we celebrate the Real Presence (body, blood, soul and divinity) of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Traditionally, the solemnity is on the Thursday 60 days after Easter, which will be June 4, 2026. It is a national holiday in Poland and in several predominantly Catholic countries in Europe and Latin America. At the Shrine, however, the observance will be on June 7, Corpus Christi Sunday in the United States.
Following the 12:30 p.m. Sunday Mass in Polish that day will be a procession of the Blessed Sacrament in monstrance around the Main Church stopping at four altars, corresponding to the four Holy Gospels and symbolizing our mission to convey the Good News to the four corners of the Earth, accompanied by Jesus.
Children who recently received First Holy Communion will lead the procession, preparing the way of Christ by laying flower petals along the path. Participating priests will read a Gospel passage at each of the four altars. The passages relate to the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper and the affirmation of Jesus as the Living Bread.
The Real Presence is a profound mystery of the Catholic Faith proclaimed at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 and affirmed at the Council of Trent in 1551. To those who devoutly participate in the procession, pray for the Pope’s intentions and, within 20 days, receive Reconciliation and Holy Communion, the Church grants a plenary indulgence (Manual of Indulgences, Grant #7.1.3).
On the Friday following Corpus Christi is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a celebration of God’s infinite love manifested in the beating human Heart of our Savior. That day, June 12 of this year, is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests, an annual observance established by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002. The Shrine will celebrate Holy Mass on the Solemnity according to its weekday schedule.
In Orlando, Fla., meanwhile, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will assemble to commend the United States to the love and protection of Our Lord in celebration of America’s 250th birthday. On June 11, the final day of the Sacred Heart Novena, the bishops will formally consecrate the Unites States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The USCCB encourages similar acts of consecration in Catholic parishes across the country.
American Czestochowa invites all to a week of prayer for the United States June 28-July 4 (details here). It begins with Holy Mass celebrated by Most Rev. Efren Esmilla, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, on Sunday, June 28 at 11 a.m. in the Main Church. From June 29 until July 4, Mass and Holy Rosary for our nation will be at 11:30 a.m. in Our Lady’s Chapel (Lower Church).
Jesus and His Most Sacred Heart portrayed in stained glass at American Czestochowa’s Chapel of Our Lady. This window is one of 12 in the Shrine’s Lower Church that were reclaimed from the recently closed St. Laurentius Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia, built in 1885 to serve the first Polish parish in the Archdiocese.
Read: American Czestochowa Shrine Highlights U.S. History
Devotion to the Sacred Heart dates from the 17th century. It became widespread following the appearances of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. During these visitations, Our Lord instructed the faithful to make reparation for humanity’s offenses to the Sacred Heart on nine consecutive monthly First Fridays by attending Mass and receiving the Holy Eucharist following Reconciliation (within eight days, a practical time window later applied by the Church).
Other ways to venerate His Sacred Heart include:
- perform a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration, a continuous hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration at the Shrine takes place Monday through Saturday between noon and 5 p.m. in the Chapel of Our Lady (Lower Church). On Thursdays, the Holy Hour is in contemplation of Christ’s Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane;
- pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as a stand-alone prayer or, in the nine days preceding the Solemnity, with the Sacred Heart Novena;
- perform works of mercy; and
- display an image of the Sacred Heart in the home.
Renderings of the Most Sacred Heart typically correspond to St. Margaret Mary’s vision of a radiant heart topped by a luminous cross and surrounded by flames, which signify Jesus’ burning love for humanity, and thorns, which recall the Crown of the Passion.
Jesus told St. Margaret Mary that He will keep 12 promises of special graces, mercy and consolation to those devoted to His Most Sacred Heart. To the faithful who perform the unbroken series of nine First Friday devotions, Our Lord makes the “Great Promise,” which is the grace of final perseverance — a guarantee that the departing soul will not die in a state of mortal sin and will receive the Sacraments essential to salvation.
— David Stakun
Acknowledgments:
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, usccb.com
Eternal World Television Network, ewtn.com