Since the 17th century devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has spread in parallel with the Sacred Heart devotion. The latter emphasises the love of Jesus for mankind and the concern of the rejection of such love, whereas the former focuses on the love the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary has for her son. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary seeks to unite humanity to God through the heart of Our Lady, and includes acts of consecration and reparation.
Sister Lúcia dos Santos, the Fatima visionary, received an apparition of Our Lady at Pontevedra, Spain, in 1925 in which the request was made for the “First Saturdays Devotion” as a way of reparation for offences committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This devotion promises consolations and graces, especially at the hour of death, for anyone who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, goes to Confession, receives Holy Communion, says five decades of the Rosary and meditates on one of the mysteries for 15 minutes. It has been approved by the Church.
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