The Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart

In recognition that June is the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we present to you the twelve promises given by Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque concerning the graces he would bestow on any soul who practiced the First Fridays devotion to his Sacred Heart.

On May 31, 1899, Pope Leo XIII officially approved the devotion and the twelve promises when he sent a document of papal approbation to Philip Kemper, an Ohio businessman who had been distributing the list of promises all over the world. The Pope’s blessing for Mr. Kemper’s "pious" and "useful" work is a sure guarantee of the legitimacy of the devotion and the twelve promises attached to it.

Our Lord told St. Margaret Mary, "My Divine Heart is so passionately fond of the human race… that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer. They must burst out through you and reveal my Heart to the world, so as to enrich mankind with my precious treasures" (December 27, 1673). Let us not return such love with indifference or ingratitude, but let us practice this devotion with all our hearts, in reparation for the sins committed against the Sacred Heart and in order to console Our Lord who loves us so much and yet receives so little love in return. – Asst. Ed.

The Twelve Promises

1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state in life.

2. I will establish peace in their homes.

3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death

5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

6. Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

9. I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.

12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving the Sacraments. My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.