St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French Roman Catholic Visitation nun and mystic known for her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

She was the sole child of Claude and Philiberte Lamyn Alacoque and was born in France on July 22, 1647. Margaret's father, Claude, passed away when she was eight years old, and from age 9 to 13, she experienced a paralyzing disease.

Margaret has always displayed a deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and chose silence over traditional childhood activities. She started engaging in severe corporal mortification after receiving her first communion at the age of nine.

In addition to her illness and her father's passing, life was difficult for Margaret and her mother for several years due to a dispute over the family's property.

Margaret's health immediately improved after she vowed to the Blessed Virgin Mary to dedicate herself to a life of religious observance. Margaret changed her baptismal name to Mary as a gesture of gratitude for this favor. However, she decided against adopting a religious life during her adolescence. After this, she led a relatively routine existence for a while, taking pleasure in the day's routine social events and thinking about getting married.

But one night as she was leaving a dance, she had a vision in which she saw Christ being scourged; this vision caused her life to change. Margaret felt that by focusing on worldly pleasures rather than her monastic vocation, she had abandoned Jesus.

After having this vision, Margaret was inspired to keep the promise she had made in the past. At the age of 22, she entered the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial to become a nun in May 1671.

Margaret had many personal revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus during her stay in this monastery. The visions showed her the "form of the devotion, the chief features being reception of Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month, Eucharistic adoration during a 'Holy hour' on Thursdays, and the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart."

She was told in her vision to meditate on Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane for one hour every Thursday night; this practice, known as "The Holy Hour," gradually spread.

Margaret Mary saw Jesus once more in December 1673, and this time He let her lay her head on His chest. His human heart was to serve as a representation of His divine and human love. The wonders of His love were made known to her by Him. He informed her that He had chosen her to carry out His mission of bringing these wonders to the attention of the entire world.

Margaret Mary persuaded Mother de Saumaise, her superior, that her visions were real. She had trouble persuading anybody, including those in her town, that her apparitions were real. Her visions were labeled as delusions by a group of theologians, who also advised her to eat healthier. Even the parents of the pupils she was teaching started labeling her a fraud.

The nun's health suffered severely as a result of this dismissal, which was a shattering disappointment. St. Claude de la Colombiere, the community's confessor, eventually gave Margaret his blessing and acknowledged the veracity of her visions. Margaret Mary's appointment as the Superior's assistant in 1683 put a stop to any communal opposition to her visions.

St Margaret Mary, afterward known as the Novice Mistress, guided the monastery in privately celebrating the Feast of the Sacred Heart and served as an inspiration for the building of a chapel dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

After a few years, on October 17, 1690, Margaret Mary passed away at the age of 43 while receiving anointing. "I need nothing but God," she said, "and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus."

The Jesuits adopted the Sacred Heart devotion after she passed away, although it was still divisive among the Church. It took 75 years before the practice received official recognition. Long after her passing, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque remained a popular subject of conversation. People discussed her purpose, her character traits, her epiphanies, her spiritual maxims, and her Sacred Heart teachings.

Pope Pius IX beatified Margaret Mary on September 18, 1864. A few years later, when her tomb was opened, two cures occurred right away, and her body was found incorrupt. On May 13, 1920, Pope Benedict XV formally canonized St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Pope Pius XI upheld the Church's stance on the veracity of her visions of Jesus Christ in 1928. The main aspects of devotion to the Sacred Heart, according to him, are "receiving Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month, Eucharistic adoration during a "Holy hour" on Thursdays, and celebrating the Feast of the Sacred Heart. He claimed that Jesus "manifested Himself" to Margaret.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is the patroness of devotees of the Sacred Heart, and those suffering from polio and from the loss of parents. Her feast day is celebrated on October 16.

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