"His mother kept all these things in her heart." — Luke 2:51, USCCB
The Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary falls on the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 2026 that is June 13 — the day after the Sacred Heart feast on June 12.
The placement is deliberate. The two hearts belong together: the Sacred Heart reveals Christ's divine love, and the Immaculate Heart reveals Mary's perfect human response to that love.
What Is The Immaculate Heart Of Mary?
The Immaculate Heart refers above all to the interior life of Our Lady — her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and above all her love: her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her Son, and her compassionate love for every soul.
In Scripture, the heart is the center of the person — the place of memory, love, will, and desire. When Luke writes that Mary "kept all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:19, Luke 2:51), he is describing not just a woman storing memories but a soul fully surrendered to the mystery unfolding within her.
The Immaculate Heart is immaculate because Our Lady was conceived without original sin — the Immaculate Conception defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. Free from the disorder that sin introduces into the human will, her heart loves purely, completely, without the divisions that afflict fallen human hearts.
The Scriptural Roots
Two moments in Luke's Gospel are the foundation of this devotion:
Luke 2:19 — After the birth of Christ and the visit of the shepherds: "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." Read at USCCB →
Luke 2:51 — After the Finding of Jesus in the Temple: "His mother kept all these things in her heart." Read at USCCB →
Luke 2:35 — Simeon's prophecy at the Presentation: "And you yourself a sword will pierce." Read at USCCB →
This last verse is the reason the Immaculate Heart is traditionally depicted pierced with a sword. The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady are the devotional expression of this prophecy — seven moments in which Mary shared profoundly in the suffering of her Son.
John 19:25-27 — At the foot of the Cross: "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister..." Read at USCCB →
She was there. At every moment of her Son's life — and at its most terrible moment — she remained. Her heart did not close against the suffering. It received it.
The History Of The Devotion
The devotion to the Immaculate Heart developed gradually over centuries, drawing on the mystical theology of saints who contemplated Our Lady's interior life.
St. John Eudes (1601–1680) — Often called the father of the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, St. John Eudes composed the first Office and Mass in honor of the Heart of Mary, celebrated in 1648. He saw the hearts of Jesus and Mary as inseparable — one in love, one in mission.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690) — Her visions helped spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As devotion to the Sacred Heart grew, Catholic spirituality increasingly contemplated the close union of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
The Apparitions at Fátima (1917) — Our Lady asked for devotion to her Immaculate Heart and told the children that Jesus wished to establish this devotion in the world. On July 13, 1917, she spoke of the consecration of Russia, Communion of Reparation on First Saturdays, and the promise that her Immaculate Heart would triumph. The fuller Five First Saturdays devotion was later requested of Sister Lúcia.
Pope Pius XII (1942) — Consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during the Second World War.
The Feast Established (May 4, 1944) — Pope Pius XII extended the feast of the Immaculate Heart to the universal Church, establishing August 22 — the octave day of the Assumption — as the feast date. It was later moved to the Saturday after the Sacred Heart feast by Pope Paul VI in 1969, joining the two hearts liturgically.
Pope John Paul II (1984) — Performed the collegial consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which Sr. Lúcia confirmed as fulfilling Our Lady's request at Fátima.
The Two Hearts
The Memorial of the Immaculate Heart falls the day after the Sacred Heart feast deliberately. Pope Paul VI placed it there in 1969 to highlight the close spiritual union of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus burns with divine love — a love that was pierced on Calvary, that gives itself in the Eucharist, that intercedes at the right hand of the Father.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary burns with a love that is entirely responsive — a love that said fiat at the Annunciation, that stood at the foot of the Cross, that was present in the upper room at Pentecost. Hers is not the source of grace. She receives grace from Christ and, by her maternal intercession, leads us to Him.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ (CCC 964). The Church has long contemplated the Hearts of Jesus and Mary together because of Mary's perfect union with her Son.
In 2026, devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary carries special resonance in the United States. The U.S. bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11, 2026 — the day before the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and two days before the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart. The two feasts arrive in the immediate wake of that consecration.
The Immaculate Heart At Fátima
Our Lady's own words at Fátima give the devotion its most urgent character.
At Fátima, Our Lady revealed the importance of her Immaculate Heart and called for reparation. The image of Mary's Heart surrounded by thorns became closely associated with this call to console her heart.
On June 13, 1917 — the second apparition — she said: "Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart."
The message of Fátima has three elements that directly involve the Immaculate Heart: the Five First Saturdays, the consecration of Russia, and the promise that her Immaculate Heart would ultimately triumph.
"In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph." — Our Lady of Fátima, July 13, 1917
How To Honor The Immaculate Heart
The Five First Saturdays — Receive Communion on five consecutive first Saturdays, go to Confession, recite five decades of the Rosary, and spend fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary — all with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart. Our Lady promised to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, those who complete this devotion.
The Consecration to the Immaculate Heart — A personal act of entrustment to Our Lady's heart. It draws on the broader Marian consecration tradition associated with St. Louis de Montfort, and is deepened by the requests of Our Lady at Fátima, who asked for devotion and reparation to her Immaculate Heart, including the call to reparation, the First Saturdays devotion, and consecration to the Immaculate Heart.
The Litany of the Immaculate Heart — Often attributed to St. John Henry Newman, this litany offers a series of invocations to Our Lady's heart, each naming a different attribute of her interior life. The text appears in Newman's Meditations and Devotions under the title "Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
The Rosary — The devotion most directly associated with Fátima. Our Lady asked for it at every apparition.
Free Downloads
👉 [Download the Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary — Free Printable]
👉 [Download the Consecration to the Immaculate Heart — Free Printable]
Further Reading
For the Sacred Heart of Jesus — the feast that precedes this memorial:
👉 [The Sacred Heart Novena — A Catholic Guide For June 2026]
For the Litany of the Sacred Heart:
👉 [The Litany of the Sacred Heart — A Catholic Guide]
A Note On 2026
In the United States in 2026, the Immaculate Heart memorial falls on June 13 as an Optional Memorial alongside St. Anthony of Padua. This does not diminish the devotion — the feast, the prayers, and the heart it honors remain what they have always been.
Conclusion
In honoring the Immaculate Heart, the Church does not ask us merely to admire Our Lady from afar. She invites us to imitate her: to keep Christ in our hearts, to trust God in suffering, and to remain faithful beneath the Cross.
The Immaculate Heart reminds us that holiness is not found in power or worldly success, but in perfect love and complete surrender to God. Mary's heart was not extraordinary because of what she did. It was extraordinary because of what she received — and how completely she gave herself to it.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved