The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of six litanies formally approved by the Church for public use. It is prayed at benediction, on First Fridays, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, and in private devotion throughout the year — particularly during June, the Month of the Sacred Heart.
It is not a new prayer. Its roots reach back to the seventeenth century, and its text was formally approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1899. A partial indulgence is attached to its recitation.
What Is A Litany?
A litany is one of the oldest forms of Catholic prayer. It consists of a series of invocations — short phrases addressed to God, Our Lady, or the saints — each followed by a fixed response. The leader says the invocation; the congregation responds with the same phrase, repeated over and over: have mercy on us, pray for us, deliver us, Lord.
The repetition is not empty. It is the structure of a prayer that asks something — and keeps asking. It is the form of persistent prayer that Christ himself commended: ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.
The Church has approved six litanies for public use: the Litany of the Saints, the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto), the Litany of St. Joseph, the Litany of the Precious Blood, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. Each one is a sustained act of praise, petition, and reparation.
The History of the Litany of the Sacred Heart
The Litany of the Sacred Heart did not arrive fully formed. It developed over two centuries, drawing on the work of several writers and religious communities before receiving official approval.
Father Jean Croiset, SJ (1691) — A Jesuit priest and promoter of Sacred Heart devotion, Father Croiset composed one of the earliest litanies to the Sacred Heart, from which seventeen invocations were later drawn.
Sister Madeleine Joly of Dijon (1686) — Six invocations composed by Sister Joly were added by the Sacred Congregation for Rites when the litany was formally approved, bringing the total to thirty-three.
Venerable Anne-Madeleine Remuzat (1718) — A Visitandine nun in Marseille, she composed her own litany during a plague, joining ten additional invocations to those of Father Croiset, for a total of twenty-seven. Her version became the primary basis for what the Church eventually approved.
Pope Leo XIII (1899) — In the same year that he consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical Annum Sacrum, Pope Leo XIII approved the Litany of the Sacred Heart for public use. The Sacred Congregation for Rites had reviewed and completed the text, adding the final six invocations and bringing the total to thirty-three — one for each year of Our Lord's earthly life.
The number is not accidental. Each invocation addresses a different attribute of the Heart of Christ. Prayed in sequence, they constitute a meditation on who He is — not just what He has done.
The Thirty-Three Invocations
The heart of the litany is its thirty-three invocations, each beginning "Heart of Jesus" and each naming a different mystery or attribute of Christ's heart. They move from His divine origin — Son of the Eternal Father — through His Incarnation, His virtues, His Passion, and His role as the source of all grace.
A few are worth examining closely:
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity — The image of fire is central to Sacred Heart devotion. St. Margaret Mary described the heart she saw as surrounded by flames. This is not decoration. Fire is the ancient symbol of purification, of love that consumes, of the Holy Spirit. The Sacred Heart burns with a love that does not diminish.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues — The word abyss signals inexhaustibility. There is no bottom to the virtues of Christ's heart. Every virtue the Christian is called to practice finds its source and its perfection there.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance — The wound in Christ's side is the wound that gave us the sacraments. Blood and water flowed from that wound — understood by the Fathers as a figure of the Eucharist and Baptism. The litany does not let us forget the cost of our redemption.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee — This is the promise. Not of those who are perfect, not of those who have earned it — but of those who trust. The Sacred Heart devotion is ultimately a devotion of confidence in divine mercy.
When To Pray It
The Litany of the Sacred Heart is traditionally prayed:
- On First Fridays — the monthly devotion to the Sacred Heart requested by Christ through St. Margaret Mary
- On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart — June 12, 2026
- During June — the Month of the Sacred Heart
- At Benediction — as part of the formal exposition and reposition of the Blessed Sacrament
- In private devotion — at any time, with the partial indulgence attached
The Closing Prayer
The litany concludes with the Lamb of God, a versicle and response, and a collect:
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praise and satisfaction He offers Thee in the name of sinners and for those who seek Thy mercy; be Thou appeased and grant us pardon in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.
This prayer makes explicit what the litany implies throughout: that we approach the Father not on our own merits, but through the Heart of His Son. It is a prayer of reparation — acknowledging sin, acknowledging the debt we cannot pay, and trusting that the Heart of Christ has paid it for us.
The Litany and the Sacred Heart Novena
The Litany of the Sacred Heart is a companion to the Sacred Heart Novena, not a substitute for it. Where the novena (the Efficacious Novena of Padre Pio) is a prayer of petition — bringing a specific intention before God over nine days — the litany is a prayer of praise and reparation, addressing the attributes of Christ's heart one by one.
Prayed together during the novena days (June 3–11), they cover the full range of Sacred Heart devotion: petition, praise, and reparation.
A Note on the Two Litanies
There are two distinct litanies associated with the Sacred Heart:
The official Litany of the Sacred Heart — approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1899, one of the six public litanies of the Church. This is the one covered in this guide.
The personal litany of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque — a shorter, more intimate prayer beginning "Hail, Heart of Jesus, save me!" Written by St. Margaret Mary herself, it is a devotional prayer rather than an officially approved litany. Both are valuable; they are not the same prayer.
Free Download
The full Litany of the Sacred Heart is available as a free printable — formatted for personal or family use, ready to keep at your prayer space or bring to Mass.
👉 [Download the Litany of the Sacred Heart]
For the Sacred Heart Novena and a complete guide to June 2026:
👉 [The Sacred Heart Novena — A Catholic Guide For June 2026]
Conclusion
The Litany of the Sacred Heart has been prayed by Catholics for over three centuries. It was built by Jesuits, Visitandines, and the Sacred Congregation for Rites. It was approved by a pope who consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart. It carries a partial indulgence.
It is not a peripheral devotion. It is one of the six public prayers of the Church — and in June, the month the Church dedicates to the Sacred Heart, it belongs in daily prayer.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
