US Catholic bishops consecrated nation to the Sacred Heart at gathering in Orlando

ORLANDO (AP) — The nation’s Catholic bishops gathered Thursday afternoon in Orlando for a liturgy consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, drawing on a centuries-old devotion to mark the country’s 250th anniversary.

Organ, brass and choral singing thundered inside a modern Orlando shrine during the service, a centerpiece of the spring assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Just before the liturgy, bishops and other worshippers knelt before relics of the 17th century St. Mary Margaret Alacoque, a French nun whose reports of visions of Jesus led to the modern devotion of the Sacred Heart as embodying the core of Christ’s suffering love. Since then, the devotion has spread worldwide, with many Catholic schools and churches bearing the Sacred Heart name and many homes and businesses displaying images of it.

The service celebrated the nation’s history, alluding to the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation of rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It also included prayers acknowledging national failures, including its “original sins of slavery and racism.” It's necessary to acknowledge the good with the bad, said Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the bishops conference.

“To consecrate ourselves to the Sacred Heart is ultimately to accept Jesus’ invitation to remain in his love and to allow that love to shape every aspect of our lives, public and private,” he said. “If we are honest, we must acknowledge that neither our nation nor the church has always reflected that love."

It’s the first time such a service has been held in this country, although similar ones have taken place in several other countries since the 19th century. Such services, occasionally in conjunction with civil leaders, have taken on political and sometimes controversial overtones when it has been used in support of Catholic nationalistic movements.

Pope Leo XIII, the most recent namesake of the current pontiff, consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart in 1899.

Before the service, bishops heard devotional talks from some of their members, emphasizing Pope Francis’ final encyclical, or teaching document, in which he highlighted the Sacred Heart as an inspiration for service and justice.

The relics of St. Mary Margaret Alacoque were brought over from their permanent location in France and displayed in front of the church for the occasion. While scholars trace the roots of the Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart to ancient times, her reports of visions are credited with fostering the modern images, prayers and piety surrounding it.

Thursday's service took place at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. The strong afternoon Florida sun shone brightly even through the filters of stained-glass windows beside and above the worshippers.

Rows upon rows of bishops in their purple hats and white robes sat in front of the sanctuary, with other worshippers behind and beside them.

Earlier Thursday, in their twice-a-year gathering, the bishops approved minor revisions to their policies on responding to sexual abuse, adding some specifics about due process for accused priests while maintaining the ban on any priests from ministry who had been found to have abused children.

Some bishops called for a delay in adopting the revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in order to gain broader feedback on it, but they were outvoted. The final vote for approval was 176-22.

The revisions began five years ago. It was first approved in 2002 at the peak of the Catholic clergy sex abuse crisis, when reports by the Boston Globe about abuse and coverup in the Archdiocese of Boston ignited an explosion of similar revelations nationwide and beyond. The charter has been revised periodically since then.

The centerpieces of that document remain — including the banishing of priests from ministry for any confirmed episode of sexual abuse.

The revisions are “trying to do two things at the same time,” said Bishop Barry Knestout, who chairs the committee that revised it.

“One is to retain and also reemphasize the commitment of bishops to address the issue of potential for abuse, safeguarding of our children and young people in a way that’s both transparent and accountable,” he said. The other is to “recognize due process and presumption of innocence” of the accused while a case is being investigated.

“We’re trying not to lose any of the commitment to victim survivors yet still recognize that there is in fairness a process that should be undertaken,” he said.

The advocacy group BishopAccountability.org issued a statement calling the approval a “missed opportunity,” saying a delay would have allowed wider input into the document and produced a better and more “trauma-informed” charter. It called for close scrutiny of the revisions at the diocese level.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gather for their spring meeting on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)

A box containing 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, stands Thursday in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., before a service in which U.S. Catholic bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart upon the nation's 250th anniversary. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)

U.S. Catholic bishops are seated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Fla., for a service Thursday, June 11, 2026, consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart upon the nation's 250th anniversary. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)

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, Fla., 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)

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Christian Pulisic is the most accomplished and most famous player on his national team at the exact time when his nation is hosting a World Cup.

Only a handful of prominent players in the past few decades have faced this confluence of talent and timing. They include a selection of generational greats: Zinedine Zidane for France in 1998, Michael Ballack for Germany in 2006, Neymar for Brazil in 2014.

Pulisic's U.S. teammates recognize the extraordinary burden he is carrying while the Americans prepare for their World Cup opener Friday night against Paraguay. From the field to the back row of the stands, everyone is looking to Pulisic for leadership and goals, hoping his full decade of international success with club and country will propel a middling soccer nation to new heights on home soil.

“I can't even imagine the weight that's on his shoulders,” teammate Tyler Adams said. “From such a young age, he was the hope of American soccer.”

Pulisic does not shy from the spotlight that will glare more brightly than ever in the next few weeks. In fact, he repeated Thursday that this challenge is “what I've always wanted.”

Now 27 years old, Pulisic has enough achievement and enough faith in his teammates to focus on how far the Americans can go, not how far they might fall.

“I don’t feel a difference in weight,” Pulisic said at the U.S. training base in Orange County. “I’m not sure. Maybe less. I just feel like there’s so many good players around me. I genuinely don’t feel like I have to do anything on my own. I’m going to give it the best I can. I want to help the team, and they expect a lot out of me, but with the guys I have around me, it makes it a lot easier for me.”

Pulisic was already the center of the U.S. hopes and aspirations when this World Cup was awarded to North America eight years ago, and his status hasn't changed. A nation that had struggled to produce elite players finally created a star in this slick, creative midfielder from Hershey, Pennsylvania, who has gone on to a decade of European club success.

National team progress has been more difficult to come by during Pulisic's first decade, but he is still considered the most consistently dynamic player in the American program — despite his 18-month goal drought in a U.S. shirt that only ended May 31.

“Of course he needs to be an important player for us in the competition,” said coach Mauricio Pochettino, who took over the U.S. team in late 2024. “(But) I think what we’ve learned after a year and a half is that the badge of the national team and the culture with this country is more important than any name, any player or any coach. That is a principal thing that we (believe), and from there, if you have talent and quality, you can perform on that platform.”

Adams, the 27-year-old Bournemouth midfielder, has been right alongside Pulisic for most of this ride.

He watched in awe as the 17-year-old Pulisic made his senior U.S. debut in late 2016. Those Americans failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but Pulisic quickly became a vital component of the group.

“(Pulisic was) the best player on the field at 17 years old, and the person that they rely on, (and) it’s been since then that they’ve relied on him,” Adams said. “Now, we have weapons around him to kind of relieve that, but he’s a star. Not just for the U.S. national team, but in world football. He’s that good. We rely on him in big moments, but that being said, I hope he doesn’t feel the pressure to carry it all. Just to be himself and grow into each game.”

Pulisic became known across the world when he moved from Dortmund to Chelsea in 2019. He was part of the Blues’ Champions League winners in 2021, becoming only the second American to claim the ultimate club trophy, before moving in 2023 to AC Milan, where he remains a vital player for another major club.

Pulisic finally made his World Cup debut four years ago in Qatar, contributing a big goal and an assist — but the U.S. scored just three goals in its four games before going home in the knockout round.

“It feels similar, but with a bit of that comfort of being in America,” Pulisic said of his World Cup return. “It feels great having the people you love around you. It makes it that much more special.”

Pochettino has strived to build an aggressive, attacking team around Pulisic’s talents, thereby minimizing its reliance on its best player. Prolific Europe-based strikers Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi will make their World Cup debuts this month for the U.S., hopefully spreading out the scoring responsibility.

But with his past World Cup experience in mind, Pulisic knows the Americans must step up quickly at home — and their opening matchup against a solid Paraguay team will put him right in the spotlight again.

“It has that big-game feel, for sure,” Pulisic said. “But in some ways, I feel a little bit more relaxed because I've been there before. We've played in a match like this. I think the experience has calmed me down a little bit.”

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

United States' Joe Scally, center, Antonee Robinson, center right, and teammates attend a training session ahead of their FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, Calif., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

United States goalkeeper Chris Brady practices during a training session ahead of his FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, Calif., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

United States' Weston McKennie, center, and teammates attend a training session ahead of their FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, Calif., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Germany midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović, left, tackles the ball from United States forward Christian Pulisic during the first half of an international friendly soccer match in Chicago, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

United States' Christian Pulisic attends a training session ahead of his FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, Calif., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)