''Annum sacrum'' (meaning Holy Year) is an

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

on the consecration of the entire world to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

. It was delivered in

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

in Rome on the 25th day of May, 1899, the twenty-second year of his pontificate.

History

''Annum sacrum'' was published on 25 May 1899, in anticipation of the

Holy Year A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In ''Leviticus'', a Jubilee (biblical), jubilee year ( he, יובל ''yūḇāl'') is mentioned to occur every 50th year; during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, deb ...

declared for 1900 to usher in the twentieth century.O'Donnell, Timothy Terrance. ''Heart of the Redeemer'', Ignatius Press, 1992

When the Church, in the days immediately succeeding her institution, was oppressed beneath the yoke of the Caesars, a young Emperor saw in the heavens across, which became at once the happy omen and cause of the glorious victory that soon followed. And now, to-day, behold another blessed and heavenly tokenis offered to our sight-the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a cross rising from it and shining forth with dazzling splendor amidst flames of love. ..there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another...

The consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was a response to numerous demands that had been addressed to Pope Pius IX over 25 years. The motive of consecration is the need for the faithful to reciprocate God’s love for His creation, especially for man. The consecration in the encyclical entered new theological territory by consecrating non-Christians.

His empire extends not only over Catholic nations and those who, having been duly washed in the waters of holy baptism, belong of right to the Church, although erroneous opinions keep them astray, or dissent from her teaching cuts them off from her care; it comprises also all those who are deprived of the Christian faith, so that the whole human race is most truly under the power of Jesus Christ. ..Such an act of consecration, since it can establish or draw tighter the bonds which naturally connect public affairs with God, gives to States a hope of better things.

The encyclical, and the consecration, were influenced by two letters written to the pope by Sister Mary of the Divine Heart Droste zu Vischering who stated that in

visions of Jesus Christ Since the Crucifixion of Jesus on Calvary, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Jesus Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding his mother, Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, who is often kno ...

she had been told to request the consecration.Niels Christian Hvidt, 2007, ''Christian Prophecy: The Post-Biblical Tradition'', OUP Press page 242 The encyclical includes the

Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus The Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII. It was included in the 1899 encyclical ''Annum sacrum'' issued by Leo XIII as he consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Je ...

composed by Pope Leo XIII.

Influence

According to Russell Hittinger, more subsequent encyclicals were written referencing ''Annum sacrum'' than the better known ''Rerum novarum".Hittinger, Russell. "Social Pluralism and Subsididiarity in Catholic Social Doctrine", ''Annales Theologici'', 16, 2002 Leo XIII unites the Kingship of Christ with devotion to the Sacred Heart. "For He who is the Only-begotten Son of God the Father, having the same substance with Him and being the brightness of His glory and the figure of His substance (Hebrews i., 3) necessarily has everything in common with the Father, and therefore sovereign power over all things." In addition to this natural right of sovereignty, he also acquired the right by his universally

redemptive suffering Redemptive suffering is the Christian belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another, or for the other physical or spiritual nee ...

and death. Beginning with the encyclical, popes begin to speak more of Christ's ruling powers.

Principles

* The whole human race is most truly under the power of Jesus Christ.(#3)

Notes

Sources

* {{cite book , url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_25051899_annum-sacrum_en.html , author=Pope Leo XIII , chapter=Annum sacrum , title=Libreria Editrice Vaticana , year=1899 , ref={{sfnref, Annum sacrum, 1899

External links