President Donald Trump is offering support for Catholic bishops’ consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an unprecedented act of solidarity with the Catholic Church as the animosity between the White House and the Vatican is seemingly in the rearview.Members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — which is currently gathered in Orlando, Florida, for its spring assembly — came together for the consecration service on Thursday in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The occasion, marked by a presidential statement, is seen as a high point in acceptance of the Catholic Church in the historically Protestant country.“Today, Melania and I join in prayer with Catholic Bishops gathered in Orlando, Florida, as they consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the occasion of our 250th year of American Independence — a powerful moment in our national story and a poignant reminder that America has always been guided by the loving hand of God,” the president said in a statement from the White House.
A bishop venerates relics of the 17th century St. Mary Margaret Alacoque, a French nun whose reports of visions of Jesus has led to the modern devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Florida, before a service Thursday, June 11, 2026, in which U.S. Catholic bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart upon the nation’s 250th anniversary. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
