The Basilica of St Francis

Sacred Heart of Jesus

The chapel immediately to the left of the High Altar hosts a painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, made in 1900 by Giuseppe Catani. In this composition the figures are depicted in a spontaneous manner, a typical feature of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement inspired by the approach of the Italian painters prior to Raphael. A marble throne, covered with a sumptuous golden drape, is at the centre of the painting. In front of it emerges Jesus, bearing a flaming heart on his chest, in a crown of thorns and surrounded by golden rays. This image celebrates the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which began in the Middle Ages but which was encouraged essentially at the end of the seventeenth century by St. John Eudes (1601-80) and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90) to whom Jesus appeared four times. Christ gave her the following message during the first apparition:  “My Divine Heart is so full of love for men, that it is unable to contain within itself the flames of its burning love. Its needs must be spread abroad by thy means (…). I have chosen thee (…)for the accomplishment of this design, in order that (…) all is done by Me.” These words shed light on the meaning of the painting: the Passion of Christ, symbolized by the crown of thorns, kindles an infinite love that embraces every single person. The two angels kneeling in the foreground hold golden censers which emanate incense;  in actual fact, the Church has a special devotion for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, comparable only to that for God, for Jesus, for the Eucharist and for the Cross.
Since 1856, the Sacred Heart of Jesus is officially celebrated on the Friday following Corpus Christi.