The 2026 Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, drawn up by the parish and widely shared online – with a text designed to link the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus to the great challenges of our time, thus forming a school of Christian life capable of influencing personal relationships and social reality – has been recited communally every day since last Wednesday, 3 June, following the evening Mass.
The Novena has seen the parish priests of the IV Prefecture take turns presiding over the Eucharist, and on Wednesday 10 June 2026, the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr Fabio Attard, will preside over the rite.
For the triduum (9–11 June), the decision was made to present a new book each day linked to the figure of the Sacred Heart:
- “Passport Photo of the Soul”, written by Giuseppe Scarlato, presents in a simple and contemporary way the figure of St Francis of Assisi for today’s young people,
- “The Divine-Human Love of the Sacred Heart”, written by Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, titular of the Basilica, describes the uniqueness of the Heart of Christ, which in its deepest humanity conceals and reveals the merciful God;
- and on the final day, the two books “Manoscritto di Avignone. Letters to Father Croiset”, with a foreword by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; and “Letters to a Friend. To Sister Felice Maddalena de la Barge”, describe the figure and relationships of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Visitation nun who received the revelations of the Heart of Christ.
On the feast day, Friday 12 June, the Eucharistic celebration presided over by Cardinal Versaldi and concelebrated by the Rector Major, his Vicar, Fr Stefano Martoglio, as well as several other priests, both Salesian and non-Salesian, will mark the high point of the feast, which will then continue with the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by the volunteers who have duly prepared for this moment; a procession with the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the streets of the neighbourhood; a concert by the Carabinieri Band; and, finally, a time of fraternal fellowship for the whole parish community.
