SAN DIEGO — Jesus told St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that those who promote the Sacred Heart devotion “shall have their names written in my heart.”
That must be a reassuring thought for the makers of the new documentary “Sacred Heart: His Reign Has No End.”
The film, which has a run time of one hour and 37 minutes, will have a limited engagement in U.S. theaters in June, courtesy of Fathom Entertainment.
Moviegoers will have an opportunity to see the film in theaters from June 9 through 11, as well as on June 14. All screenings of the French film will be dubbed in English, except those on June 10, which will be dubbed in Spanish with English subtitles.
Attendees are invited to stay after the film for a bonus film presentation, featuring U.S. clergy and faith leaders, who will reflect on the popular devotion and discuss the upcoming consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which will take place on June 11 in honor of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
“Sacred Heart: His Reign Has No End” features historical reenactments, including of Jesus’ apparitions to St. Margaret Mary at her convent in Paray-le-Monial, France, supplemented by interviews with clergy and other experts, including Father Etienne Kern, rector of the Sanctuary of Paray-le-Monial, and Clementine Beauvais, a writer and descendant of St. Margaret Mary.
The documentary explains how the Sacred Heart devotion, Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, and the Eucharist are connected. Viewers learn about a Eucharistic Miracle that occurred in 1996 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where scientific examination revealed that a consecrated host had partially transformed into human myocardial tissue.
The film also shares the stories of several contemporary French Catholics whose lives were transformed by the Sacred Heart and by life-changing experiences at the Sanctuary of Paray-le-Monial, where St. Margaret Mary received her private revelations between 1673 and 1675.
Among them is Louis, a young writer and law student with a progressive degenerative disorder, who lost the use of his legs at age 10, has been unable to move his arms since age 13, and requires a respirator to breathe every night. He tells viewers that his “fragility” has made it necessary to depend on Jesus and “to rest on his heart.”
Zoe achieved her dream of playing professional soccer, only to find that “something was missing” in her life. Years later, she reluctantly accepted a friend’s invitation to Mass, where she experienced peace, and, later, to attend a youth conference at Paray-le-Monial, where she was overwhelmed by the feeling that Jesus loved her.
Then, there’s Rodrigue, a special education teacher. As a teenager, he drifted away from the Church, dropped out of school and started dealing drugs. Religious sisters in his neighborhood offered to take him to Paray-le-Monial; he accepted their invitation, mostly so that they would stop pestering him. But, during Eucharistic adoration, completely ignorant of what the Host and monstrance were, he felt a power that brought him to his knees and to repentance.
Several local AMC and Regal theaters will be showing “Sacred Heart: His Reign Has No End,” including AMC Mission Valley 20, Regal Edwards Mira Mesa, AMC Otay Ranch 12 and Regal Oceanside, among others. The location of theaters and showtimes can be found here.
