2 Sacred Hearts, 1 night of prayer

MIAMI � Hundreds filled the chapel of St. Raphael at St. John Vianney College Seminary June 15 for an overnight vigil marking the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which concluded with a Mass at dawn in honor of the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

�The devotion to the heart of Jesus and Mary is so important especially in these times,� said Sister Emma Rueda of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. �It�s a call to hope and a call to have our trust in the heart of Jesus and Mary, because they are the ones that help us to go through all the situations that our society is going through.�

The all-night adoration began with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Emeritus John C. Favalora at 8 p.m.

�When we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus we are celebrating this tremendous, infinite love that we really cannot comprehend,� Archbishop Favalora said during the homily.

This marked the 15th year the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary have coordinated Eucharistic adoration on these feast days. Participants pray the rosary every hour, offering their prayers for different groups and different intentions each hour.

The Pierced Hearts are the only religious order founded in the Archdiocese of Miami.

�We do this night to honor the love in the heart of Jesus and Mary, so everybody that comes here sees this as a gesture of love,� said Mother Adela Galindo, foundress of the community. �People want to express their love for the heart of Jesus and the heart of the Blessed Mother so we join these two feasts by celebrating in an all-night vigil.�

Faithful from all over the Archdiocese of Miami took part, along with others from out of town.

�We have people coming from all over the world. We even have 34 students from Illinois State University spending the night in adoration. There are people from other states and we have 70 countries following the vigil in many prayer groups and chapels all over the world via the Internet,� Mother Galindo said.

�We are here just celebrating Jesus and Mary and trying to be more like them,� said Molly McClowry, one of the students from Illinois who came to take part in the festivities. �It�s beautiful seeing everybody coming together in their faith.�

�At the end the two hearts will triumph and will be one in our hearts,� said Socorro Palacios, a parishioner at St. Raymond in Miami who has attended the event for the last two years. �We are here united as a family.�

During the annual event, a new theme is revealed and this year was no exception.

�For us, our year begins with the solemnity of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart and every year I, as the foundress, unveil a new logo and theme in the life of our spiritual family,� said Mother Galindo. �This year we have the particular joy of preparing the vigil as a preparation for the great international congress that we will have here in honor of the two hearts in October.�

For more information about the Servants of the Pierced Hearts and the upcoming congress, go to www.piercedhearts.org.