VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for June, a month devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is “that the world might grow in compassion.”
“Let us pray that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from his heart, learn to have compassion on the world,” the pope prays in English in his first contribution to “The Pope Video,” a monthly reflection published by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
The video, released June 3, also includes an original prayer people can recite daily during the month.
“You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure with Your divine and human Heart,” the prayer said.
“Grant all Your children the grace of encountering You. Change, shape and transform our plans, so that we seek only You in every circumstance: in prayer, in work, in encounters and in our daily routine,” the prayer continued. “From this encounter, send us out on mission, a mission of compassion for the world in which You are the source from which all consolation flows.”
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer, is a global movement of people who make a commitment each day to pray for the pope’s intentions.
Jesuit Father Cristóbal Fones, director of the prayer network, said Pope Leo’s intention “focuses on growing in compassion for the world through a personal relationship with Jesus.”
“By cultivating this truly close relationship, our hearts are more conformed to His. We grow in love and mercy, and we better learn what compassion is,” Father Fones said. “Jesus manifested an unconditional love for everyone, especially for the poor, the sick and those who were suffering. The pope encourages us to imitate this compassionate love by extending a hand to those in need.”
In a statement accompanying the video, Father Fones also pointed out that during the Holy Year 2025, “The Pope Video acquires special relevance since through it we know the prayer intentions the pope holds in his heart. To properly receive the graces of the Jubilee indulgence, it is necessary to pray for the pope’s intentions.”
The prayer network also noted how four popes have devoted encyclicals to Catholics’ devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“Pope Leo XIII, whose name the current pope took, wrote ‘Annum Sacrum’ in 1899, in which he consecrated all of humanity to the Heart of Jesus. In 1928, Pope Pius XI, in ‘Miserentissimus Redemptor,’ invited us to make reparation through acts of love for the wounds our sins inflict on the Heart of Christ,” the network said.
“For his part, Pope Pius XII published ‘Haurietis Aquas’ in 1956, in which he explores the theological basis for devotion to the Sacred Heart,” it said. And “lastly, Pope Francis wrote ‘Dilexit Nos’ in 2024, and proposed devotion to the Heart of Christ as a response to the throwaway culture and the culture of indifference.”
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