St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
A life behind the Visitation enclosure whose testimony called the Church toward the love of Christ.
The Life and Witness of Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Margaret Mary Alacoque entered the Visitation monastery at Paray-le-Monial in 1671. Her life was lived within its enclosure, but her written testimony to the Sacred Heart drew pilgrims far beyond it. To follow her today is to come to that same chapel, pray before Christ in the Eucharist and pause beside her bodily relics.
Born at Verosvres in Burgundy in 1647, she entered religious life as a young woman and professed her vows at Paray in 1672. The Visitation gave her a daily life of community, obedience and prayer. It was within that hidden life of prayer that Christ came to meet her.
Between 1673 and 1675 Christ showed her his Heart, burning with love for all people, and asked for Communion, reparation and a feast in its honor. Claude La Colombière, sent to Paray in 1675, recognized the work of God in her and took up her defense. Her autobiography and letters preserve her own account of these revelations.
The devotion honors Jesus himself, whose human Heart expresses his love for us. The Church’s liturgy and papal teaching have received that devotion. Margaret Mary’s private revelations serve the life of faith; they do not complete or alter the revelation given in Christ. First Friday Communion and the Holy Hour belong to this devotional inheritance.
She died at Paray on October 17, 1690 and was canonized by Benedict XV on May 13, 1920. Her remains are venerated in the Chapel of the Apparitions beneath a wax effigy. The October 16 memorial and the sanctuary’s celebrations offer occasions to return, with their program checked for the particular year.
A life, in years and approximate ages.
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1671Enters religious lifeEnters the Visitation at Paray.
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1675The Paray encounterClaude’s discernment supports Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart devotion.
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1690Dies at ParayDies at Paray-le-Monial.
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1920CanonizedCanonized by Benedict XV in 1920
Dates are approximate where the surviving record is traditional or incomplete.
One place where this witness remains visible.
Chapel of the Apparitions, Paray-le-Monial
Begin with prayer at the principal place of veneration.
Begin in Paray.
The saint’s principal place of veneration is part of a short walking pilgrimage.
Enter Chapel of the Apparitions, Paray-le-Monial. Ask reception about access and the day’s worship.
A full day holds the three churches. An overnight can add evening prayer and a return the next morning without a second sightseeing circuit.
Where the relics are venerated.
Her bones are preserved beneath a wax effigy in the Visitation chapel’s châsse. Pilgrims venerate bodily relics; the figure should not be understood as an exposed intact body.
A principal relic site is named, with other fragments or reliquaries noted separately.
Chapel of the Apparitions, Paray-le-Monial
Her bodily remains are venerated beneath a wax effigy in the châsse.
- Bodily remains beneath a wax effigy
Confirm worship and access; leave time to pray by the shrine.
Saints Connected to Margaret Mary Alacoque
Kept on October 16.
The Church honors Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque on October 16.
Check the sanctuary’s celebration program and lodging availability before traveling.