During the years 1720-1721, an outbreak of the bubonic plague occurred in Marseilles, the largest French city on the Mediterranean Sea.  Sr. Anne Madeleine Rémusat, a Visitation nun and mystic, received a revelation that led to the end of this plague on humanity, sometimes called the Black Death.  Prayer and penance to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on her part and the cooperation of the diocesan Bishop, Henri de Belsunce, resulted in the cessation of this terrible trial.

While in adoration, Christ revealed to Sr. Anne-Madeleine that the plague would lead to the institution of the feast in honor of His Sacred Heart. Just a few days later, He made known to her the conditions. The message was immediately transmitted to Bishop de Belsunce who published an order establishing the Feast of the Sacred Heart in his diocese. On November 1, for the first time in the world, he solemnly consecrated the city and the Diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In what historians call the appeasement, sufferers began to recover and the mortality rate fell dramatically. The brief outbreak in 1722 was the last appearance of the bubonic plague in Western Europe. However, a side note about that! The plague ceased for good when the bishop AND civil authorities walked in procession with a banner of the Sacred Heart.

Pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during this current worldwide health crisis! Consecrate yourself, your family, your parish, your diocese to Jesus. Dear Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place all our trust in you!

For more information about the Visitation Order, visit their website.