Local 'Sacred Heart' parishes celebrate the Consecration

by Benjamin Shane Evans | June 2, 2026

Local Diocese of Des Moines parishes will join in celebration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)’s Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which will take place on June 11, 2026. Particularly, parishes with "Sacred Heart" as their namesake will hold special celebrations to commemorate the consecration. 

One of those parishes is Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Woodbine. The parish's pastor, Father Samuel Danso, shared that he announced a special Mass to take place on Friday, June 12, at 5 p.m., with festivities to be held after. He said the parishioners are especially excited about the planned activities.

"It’s a privilege to be able to be celebrating this great feast with the entire country, the entire nation," Fr. Danso said. "I think this consecration is a spiritual journey where we can pray for our dear country." 

Fr. Danso said he regards the consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a privileged moment for spiritual renewal and a call to prayer for the nation and a way to reconnect people with a historical act of faith.

"The Sacred Heart of our dear Lord Jesus symbolizes love," Father Danso said. "And so, if our dear country has been consecrated into the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it means we are praying that we all continue to live as one people. To love one another and to also love our country."

Another parish in the Diocese of Des Moines, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bedford, will commemorate the Consecration by hold a gathering with refreshments to be held after 5:45 p.m. Mass on Saturday, June 13.

Father Michael Acquah explained that for Sacred Heart in Bedford, the consecration is significant because it provides an opportunity to remind parishioners that Jesus should be at the center of every aspect of life and reign in the hearts of all people, not only across the parish but in all the world.

"[The Consecration] is an opportunity for us to deepen our love for Christ and to contemplate the mercy of God and entrust ourselves to Him," Fr. Acquah said. "When we consecrate ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Christ, we want them to know that Christ should reign in your hearts and home. Christ is the head of the house and family. That is what I want them to do so every act that they do, in anything that they do, that they remember that they belong to Christ and Christ is with them."

Fr. Acquah also said that the gathering after the Mass on Saturday will be focused on how the Sacred Heart bonds the Bedford community together, and he hopes that the nation can share the same strong bond that the members of Bedford parish have.    

"When consecrate ourselves to the nation and ourselves to Jesus, it’s like we are bonded," he said. "All of us are doing the same thing, praying for peace, praying that Jesus would take control of our hearts and every part of our nation." 

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines will also celebrate the consecration as part of their 6th Annual Sacred Heart of Jesus Feast Day Celebration on Friday, June 12.

Father Chris Hartshorn said that after the COVID pandemic, the feast day celebration became a way to celebrate community, and it has grown to bring in almost 500 people that last year. This year's celebration, which is open to the public, begins with Mass at 5:30 pm and continues outside for a party in the parking lot beginning at 6:30 pm. It will include live music from Heath Alan Band,  games, and food trucks including Grazianos, Campbell's Corndogs Hawaiian Grill, and El Burrito Loco.

Fr. Hartshorn said that the parish desires a closeness with the Sacred Heart of Christ year round and actively fosters a devotion, including a weekly devotional prayer service. The consecration enriches that devotion as a way to draw closer even to the heart of Christ.

"Ultimately, it's about Jesus's unconditional love for us," he said. "To surrender to that love that He has for us is the best way to prepare for the Consecration and prepare for feast day this year." 

The Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

As previously reported in The Catholic Mirror, on November 11, the bishops of the United States voted to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, according to a reflection by the Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty.

Drawing from Pope Pius XI’s encyclical instituting the Solemnity of Christ, Pope Francis’s Dilexit Nos, and Pope Leo’s Dilexi Te,  Archbishop Sample wrote that the consecration is an opportunity to reflect with gratitude “on the blessings God has bestowed on our country,” and “consider how we might foster truth, justice, and charity in American life,” as a way to recognize the “kingship of Christ.”

“We are called to bring our faith into the actions we take and the lives we lead in our communities. We celebrate the ways the Church has contributed to a more just world, and we invite all in our society to see the face of Christ reflected in each sister and brother,” Archbishop Sample said. “We welcome God’s ‘kingdom of justice, fraternity and solidarity,’ remembering that ‘God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest.’”

The Diocese of Des Moines parishes have been invited to consider participating in the consecration at the parish level, and can find additional resources and guidance on the USCCB’s website.