One of the largest Catholic universities in America will be consecrated to the Sacred Heart on Friday — thanks to a local student
DETROIT — When Luke Fisher gets an idea, he doesn’t let it go. Especially when it’s an idea to help an entire campus community learn about Jesus’ love for them.
Fisher, a 2025 graduate of University of Detroit Jesuit High School in Detroit and a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, will witness the culmination of one big idea this Friday as his campus is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
As a Notre Dame freshman last fall, Fisher was given an assignment in a writing and rhetoric class to suggest a positive change on campus. Some students proposed adding more bike racks or changing the menu in the dining halls.
Fisher went in a different direction. He had recently learned that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops would consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
“I wondered if Notre Dame had ever been consecrated to the Sacred Heart, and as I asked around, I learned it had not, even though the devotion had been prevalent on campus since the beginning,” Fisher said.
The Congregation of Holy Cross, the religious community that founded and runs the university, is devoted to the Sacred Heart, naming the basilica on campus the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. A Sacred Heart of Jesus statue overlooks a main intersection of campus.
Founded in 1842 by Fr. Edward Sorin, CSC, the University of Notre Dame was consecrated one time 160 years ago, to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1866 on the feast of Corpus Christi. The statue of the Mary atop the “golden dome” was dedicated on the same day.
Fisher put his idea into action by “cold emailing” administrators on campus. Fr. Gregory Haake, CSC, vice president for mission engagement and church affairs, was the first to meet with Fisher.
"Luke came to me last November to ask for my advice on how to make this consecration to the Sacred Heart happen at Notre Dame. His enthusiasm inspired me, as I'm sure his own devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and his love for God and Notre Dame have inspired him,” Fr. Haake told Detroit Catholic. “Throughout the planning, he has been singularly focused on calling others on campus to deepen their faith and to imitate the love of Jesus through this wonderful devotion.”
With Fr. Haake’s support and feedback, Fisher met with other campus groups, including leadership at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture and the McGrath Institute for Church Life. He also pitched the idea to Fr. Pete McCormick, CSC, who oversees campus ministry at Notre Dame.
Fr. McCormick supported the idea as well, working closely with Fisher to ensure that the event would gather the entire university community together. Fr. McCormick proposed a 30-day initiative around the consecration to help the campus community learn about and prepare their hearts for the devotion.
“One of the great privileges of ministering at Notre Dame is seeing young people recognize that the Church is not simply something they inherit, but a community in which they are called to participate and lead,” Fr. McCormick said. “Luke and his peers are a wonderful example of what can happen when that desire is met with encouragement and accompaniment, allowing their gifts and faith to bear fruit in the life of the Church.”
In March, Fr. Haake and Fr. McCormick, along with vice president for student affairs Fr. Gerry Olinger, CSC, and University of Notre Dame president Fr. Robert Dowd, CSC, met with Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
“They talked about it and decided it would be really good for Notre Dame to do at this point in time. They chose a date, and we received the full backing of the bishop and the president’s office,” Fisher said.
With the approval and a date of Sept. 25 on the calendar, the Consecration 2026 Committee was formed under the direction of Fr. McCormick. Three current sophomores, all friends of Fisher, comprised the committee with Fisher as the fourth member and lead.
Committee members have been working hard on the details since March. They’ve hung posters and distributed stickers and prayer cards. They’ve met with Bishop Rhoades to plan the consecration Mass and rite. They’ve worked with student faith commissioners at each of the 34 residence halls to encourage every dorm to participate in Sacred Heart novenas, a litany, prayer vigils and a service event.
On Monday evening, the de Nicola Center and McGrath Institute hosted a panel discussion, “Behold This Heart: The Theology of Consecration to the Sacred Heart.” The event featured well-known university professors who discussed the history and theology of the consecration to the Sacred Heart and what it means for the campus to be dedicated to Christ in this way.
“And of course, they served food because with college students, you always have to have food,” Fisher quipped.
This Friday, Sept. 25, Bishop Rhoades will celebrate the Pontifical Sacred Heart Mass and Consecration of the university at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame’s campus. A Eucharistic procession will follow the Mass, ending with the Rite of Consecration. The evening will conclude with a reception under the Main Building’s golden dome, hosted by the president’s office.
In a reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, the U.S. bishops' chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, stated, “Devotion to the Sacred Heart has developed over the centuries following the experiences of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the apparitions she witnessed in the seventeenth century. Popes have lauded the practice of consecration of the self, home, and even whole nations to the Sacred Heart.”
Fisher believes the University of Notre Dame can be an example to other campuses looking to dedicate their communities to the heart of Christ.
“This is an opportunity for Notre Dame to be a torch bearer as to what it means to be a Catholic university — to be welcoming and have open arms for everyone, and to share our love of Christ with the whole world,” Fisher said. “To consecrate means to dedicate, and so by doing this, we’re saying we’re dedicating our future and every decision we make to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Notre Dame is already exploding with love for Jesus on campus, he says. Last Easter, Notre Dame’s campus ministry welcomed a record number of people in the Church through OCIA.
Seeing the final details of the consecration come together has been surreal for Fisher. It’s clear to him that it’s the work of the Holy Spirit.
“We didn’t want this to be a small group of students consecrating themselves to the Sacred Heart. We want this to be the University of Notre Dame consecrating itself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as an official act,” Fisher said. “So to see the enthusiastic support of the bishop, the president’s office, campus ministry, de Nicola, McGrath, and so many priests and leaders around campus, it’s shown us that the Holy Spirit is behind it all.”
On an individual level, Fisher hopes the consecration will energize the spiritual life of students on campus in a personal way. One of the 12 promises the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque ensures that “tepid souls shall become fervent.”
“It’s my hope that many students who have yet to encounter Jesus Christ and the love He has for them will experience God’s love through this incredibly unique opportunity. That’s the promise of the Sacred Heart — that tepid hearts will grow on fire with love for Christ,” Fisher said.
Fisher never imagined his idea would become a 30-day event and “one of the biggest spiritual moments in the history of Notre Dame,” as he calls it. His advice for young people with their own ideas for their high school, college campus or parish: do something, big or small.
“Don’t wait for someone else to do it. The Holy Spirit will give you inspiration, but use the brain God gave you to implement concrete plans,” Fisher said. “The whole point is to do something.”
And as Fisher knows first-hand, persistence pays off.
“All the cold emails and the many hours we’ve put into planning will be worth it because I believe Jesus is going to break into our hearts on this campus in a new way, even if we already know Christ. I know I’ve been transformed through this whole process,” he said. “When our hearts give an inch to Him, Jesus is going to take a mile.”
Watch the Consecration
Information about the consecration at the University of Notre Dame on Friday, Sept. 25, as well as a link to the livestream, can be found at campusministry.nd.edu/pray/sacred-heart-consecration.
