The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11 during its Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando, Florida, as the country prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The consecration, to be led by Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the USCCB, will take place during a concelebrated Mass. Parishes and individual Catholics nationwide are being invited to prepare through 250 hours of Eucharistic Adoration, 250 works of mercy and a novena to the Sacred Heart.

The initiative comes as the United States prepares to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It follows the precedent set in 1846, when the US bishops chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, as patroness of the United States.

The timing also follows the promulgation of Pope Francis’s encyclical Dilexit nos in 2024, which presented devotion to the Sacred Heart as a remedy for modern superficiality and a source of renewal for personal and societal love rooted in Christ’s mercy. The US bishops’ decision reflects a growing emphasis in parts of the American episcopate on public acts of reparation and devotion to the Sacred Heart, a practice long encouraged by the Church’s magisterium.

The Spring Plenary Assembly, which will take place from June 10 to 12, will also address several other significant matters, including votes on the causes for canonisation of Mgr Joseph Francis Buh and John Rick Miller, revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and parts of a new edition of the Lectionary for Mass. Discussions are also expected on Catholic prison ministry, the implementation of the Synod and preparations for World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul.

The consecration is likely to resonate strongly with traditional and conservative Catholics who view public devotion to the Sacred Heart as a powerful spiritual counter to secularism and moral confusion.

The Sacred Heart has deep historical roots in the United States, with numerous parishes, schools and shrines dedicated to it, including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Conewago, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest Catholic churches in the country.

The full text of the consecration prayer and further liturgical details are expected to be released in the coming weeks. The event will be livestreamed by the USCCB.