Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary honors the love, purity and sorrow of the Mother of God, whose heart “kept all these words, pondering them” and was pierced by a sword at the foot of the Cross. It is closely joined to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and it received new life through Our Lady’s message at Fatima. Below is what the devotion means, its feast day, the full Chaplet of the Immaculate Heart from the Raccolta, prayers to pray each day or as a novena, and the First Saturdays devotion.
What is the Immaculate Heart of Mary?
In the Bible the heart is the center of the person, where we think, love and decide. Mary’s heart is called immaculate because she was preserved from all sin from her conception and loved God with an undivided heart. The Gospels show us her heart twice:
“But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
“And thy own soul a sword shall pierce” (Luke 2:35).
Honoring Mary’s heart means honoring her whole inner life of faith and love, and asking her to form our hearts like her Son’s. St. John Eudes (1601–1680) composed the first Mass and Office in honor of the Heart of Mary, and Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942.
When is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?
The memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is kept on the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which itself falls on the Friday nineteen days after Pentecost. In 2027 it falls on Saturday, June 5, 2027. The two hearts are celebrated side by side.
The Chaplet of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
This chaplet was enriched with indulgences by Blessed Pius IX in 1854. It has five parts, each followed by one Our Father, seven Hail Marys and a short verse. You can pray it on a rosary, using the beads of each decade.
Begin: “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.” Glory Be.
First part: Mary’s sinless heart
Immaculate Virgin, who, conceived without sin, didst direct every movement of thy most pure heart to that God who was ever the object of thy love, and who wast ever most submissive to his will: obtain for me the grace to hate sin with my whole heart, and to learn of thee to live in perfect resignation to the will of God.
Our Father once, Hail Mary seven times, then:
Heart transpierced with pain and woe!
Set my heart with love aglow.
Second part: Mary’s humble heart
I marvel, Mary, at thy deep humility, through which thy blessed heart was troubled at the gracious message brought thee by Gabriel the archangel, that thou wast chosen mother of the Son of the Most High, and through which thou didst proclaim thyself his humble handmaid: wherefore, in great confusion at the sight of my pride, I ask thee for the grace of a contrite and humble heart, that, knowing my own misery, I may obtain that crown of glory promised to the truly humble of heart.
Our Father once, Hail Mary seven times, and the verse “Heart transpierced with pain and woe…”
Third part: Mary’s pondering heart
Blessed Virgin, who in thy sweetest heart didst keep, as a precious treasure, the words of Jesus thy Son, and, pondering on the lofty mysteries they contained, didst learn to live for God alone: how doth my cold heart confound me! O dearest mother! get me grace so to meditate within my heart upon God’s holy law, that I may strive to follow thee in the fervent practice of every Christian virtue.
Our Father once, Hail Mary seven times, and the verse.
Fourth part: Mary’s sorrowful heart
Glorious Queen of Martyrs, whose sacred heart was pierced in thy Son’s bitter passion by the sword whereof the holy old man Simeon had prophesied: gain for my heart true courage and a holy patience to bear the troubles and misfortunes of this miserable life, that so, by crucifying my flesh with its desires, while following the mortification of the cross, I may, indeed, show myself to be a true son of thine.
Our Father once, Hail Mary seven times, and the verse.
Fifth part: Mary’s loving heart
O Mary, Mystical Rose, whose loving heart, burning with the living fire of charity, did accept us for thy sons at the cross’s foot, becoming thus our tender mother! make me feel the sweetness of thy maternal heart and thy power with Jesus, that, when menaced by the perils of this mortal life, and most of all in the dread hour of death, my heart, united with thine, may love my Jesus then and through all ages. Amen.
Our Father once, Hail Mary seven times, and the verse.
Conclude by turning to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that he may inflame us with his holy love:
O divine heart of Jesus! to thee I consecrate myself, full of deep gratitude for the many blessings I have received and daily do receive from thy boundless charity. With my whole heart I thank thee for having, in addition to them all, vouchsafed to give me thy own most holy mother, giving me to her as a son, in the person of the beloved disciple. Let my heart ever burn with love for thee, finding in thy sweetest heart its peace, its refuge, and its happiness.
A novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
To make a novena, pray the chaplet above, or the prayer below, for nine days in a row for your intention, especially in the nine days before the feast. Close each day with this prayer, written for this page:
Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of love for God and for us,
I entrust to you my intention: (mention it).
Keep my heart close to the Heart of your Son,
teach me to say yes to God as you did,
and lead me safely to Jesus. Amen.
The short invocation “Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!” was richly indulgenced by Pius IX and can be prayed many times a day.
Fatima and the First Saturdays
At Fatima in 1917, Our Lady told the three shepherd children that God wished to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate Heart. In 1925 she asked Sister Lucia for the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays: on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, to
- go to confession (within about eight days before or after),
- receive Holy Communion,
- pray five decades of the Rosary, and
- keep her company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary,
all with the intention of making reparation to her Immaculate Heart. See the Fatima prayers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Immaculate Heart and the Immaculate Conception?
The Immaculate Conception is the dogma that Mary was conceived without original sin (feast December 8). The Immaculate Heart is a devotion to Mary’s inner life of love and purity (feast the Saturday after the Sacred Heart).
Why are the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart honored together?
Because no heart was ever so united with the Heart of Jesus as his Mother’s. Their feasts fall on consecutive days, and many families consecrate themselves to both hearts.
Can I pray the chaplet on a rosary?
Yes. Use one decade for each of the five parts: the large bead for the Our Father and seven of the small beads for the Hail Marys.
More Marian prayers
- First Saturday devotion
- Total Consecration to Mary
- Mary, Undoer of Knots
- Sacred Heart novena
- Chaplet of the Sacred Heart
- Fatima prayers
- Immaculate Conception
- Three Hail Marys devotion
- Marian feast days
Texts and sources
- Chaplet of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: The Raccolta (English translation, 1878), no. 113 (Pius IX, 1854), public domain (archive.org). Small scan corrections are listed in our text log.
- Scripture: Luke 2:19, 35, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The novena prayer was written for this page.