SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE
Virgin
(1647-1690)

        St. Margaret of the Visitation Order was a mystic and apostle of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She was born in Lhautecour, France, on July 22, 1647. Her parents were Claude Alacoque and Philiberte Lamyn. At an early age, she showed intense love for the Blessed Sacrament. She also preferred silence and prayer over amusement. After her first communion at age 9, she practiced severe corporal mortifications in secret until paralysis confined her to bed for four years. After recuperating, she made a vow to the Blessed Virgin to consecrate herself to religious life and was immediately restored to perfect health.

        The death of her father and the injustice of a relative plunged her family into poverty, after which Margaret found greater consolation in the Blessed Sacrament. Around this time, Jesus made her sensible of His presence and protection. When Margaret was 17, the family property was recovered. At this, her mother persuaded her to establish herself, and that filial tenderness made Margaret believe that her childhood vow was not binding. One night, after returning from a ball, she had a vision of Christ during His scourging.

        On May 25, 1671, Margaret entered the Visitation Convent in Paray. In November, 1672, she pronounced her final vows. She had a delicate constitution, but was gifted with intelligence and good judgment. To mortify her senses, she selected otherwise hard and repugnant jobs. Here, Our Lord confided the mission of establishing devotion to His Sacred Heart. These extraordinary occurrences drew the attention and critique of her community, who treated her as a visionary. In a turn of events, Margaret's grace and charity were not only recognized, but her mission was acknowledged by everyone, including her opponents.

        In the first revelation, Jesus said He ardently desires to be loved by men; to manifest His Heart with all Its treasures of love and mercy, sanctification and salvation. In the visions, Jesus called St. Margaret "the Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart." In her final illness, St. Margaret repeated Jesus' name. She passed away on October 17, 1690, in Paray-le-Monial. Her heroic virtues and the miracles proceeding from her intercession prove that she attained the beatific vision or seeing God face to face.