TimesLeader.com

Sacred Heart of Jesus Shrine hosts Mass

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

HAZLE TWP. – The faithful are invited to a special Mass and dinner today at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Harleigh.

The Men of the Scared Heart of the Diocese of Scranton and the Diocese of Allentown will lead the faithful in celebrating the Feast of the Sacred Heart with a dinner and Mass.

Tony Antera, acting president of the Hazleton chapter of the Men of the Sacred Heart, said Monsignor Arthur Kaschanbak, of the Diocese of Scranton, and Monsignor Anthony Wassell, of the Diocese of Allentown, will concelebrate the Mass on the outdoor altar at 7 p.m. The Mass will be celebrated inside if it rains.

The rosary will be prayed before Mass.

Turkey dinners will be served in the Shrine Hall between 3:30 and 6 p.m. There will also be a bake sale and a raffle of tricky trays, Antera said.

The Rev. Girard F. Angelo, founder of the shrine and pastor emeritus of Sacred Heart Church, has concelebrated the feast day Mass with the monsignors for many years, but is too ill this year to participate, Antera said.

The shrine was dedicated June 22, 1975. Antera said Angelo’s inspiration in building the shrine was to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who is said to have appeared and spoken to Sister Margaret Mary Alocoque in the 1600s at a convent in France.

“Christ told of his love for mankind, which pours forth from his Sacred Heart, and revealed to Sister Margaret Mary 12 promises for those who honor him in his Sacred Heart,” according to literature provided for the event. Those promises are inscribed in bronze on the grounds of the shrine.

The shrine is located on 40 acres on state Route 940 near Hazleton and is the largest shrine in the United States dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Devotional attractions include a religious gift shop, a large marble Sacred Heart statue overlooking the outdoor altar, outdoor Stations of the Cross, a replica of the tomb of Christ, five fountains honoring the sacred wounds of Christ, a tomb of the unborn, and a first class relic of St. Margaret Mary Alocoque.