On 27 December 2023, a special jubilee year opened at Paray-le-Monial to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart. The Jesuits, who have been present at Paray-le-Monial for more than 400 years, are taking an active part in this jubilee year. Xavier Jahan sj, head of the Saint-Claude La Colombière chapel in Paray-le-Monial.

Opened on 27 December, the jubilee will run until 27 June 2025. This period of more than a year will cover the three key dates of what are known as the three "great apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" to the Visitation nun Saint Marguerite-Marie Alacoque. These apparitions formally took place on 27 December 1623, then in June 1624 and 1625. That's precisely 350 years ago. These apparitions gave rise to devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Claude La Colombière, confessor of Saint Margaret Mary
What does this have to do with us Jesuits? Because the Jesuit saint Claude La Colombière, confessor of the Visitation sisters, who had just arrived in Paray-le-Monial at the end of February 1625, was the first to authenticate the reality and truth of these apparitions, and he encouraged the Visitation sisters to receive fully what was given to them and to live according to what they had been told.

During the third great apparition, in 1625, Jesus explicitly referred Marguerite-Marie to Claude to put into practice what he was asking of her: more frequent communion, communion especially on the first Friday of the month, the holy hour, the process of consecration, etc. Jesus mentioned in his message the many obstacles he would have to overcome in order to take part in this mission. In his message, Jesus spoke of the many obstacles Claude would have to overcome in order to take part in this mission. This mission was explicitly extended to the whole Society of Jesus in a final vision that took place six years after Claude's death, on 2 July 1688.

Following this final vision, the Society of Jesus explicitly declared in its General Congregations (23rd GC in 1883) that it recognised this mission entrusted to it by the Lord, and in 1915 (26th GC) that the work of the Apostleship of Prayer participated fully in this mission.

The Jesuits will be very present during the Jubilee Year

The Jesuits will therefore be present throughout this jubilee year: on 27 December 2023, the jubilee was opened at a solemn celebration attended by the Apostolic Nuncio, the Bishop of Autun, Fr. Thierry Dobbelstein sj, Provincial of the Jesuits EOF, Fr Frédéric Fornos sj and Fr Daniel Régent sj, French and international directors of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN, successor to the Apostleship of Prayer). On this occasion, the shrine of Paray-le-Monial will make official its membership of this worldwide prayer network.

A retreat will be co-hosted by the shrine and the Pope's World Prayer Network in May 2024.

In February 2025, on the occasion of the feast of Saint Claude, a renewal of the Consecration of the Society of Jesus will be celebrated in the presence of the Provincial and the superiors of the Jesuit communities of the EOF Province.