A devotional act, made both by Popes and by individual faithful. Pius XII consecrated the Church and the world to the Immaculate Heart in a radio message to Portugal on 31 October 1942 and repeated the act at Rome on 8 December of that year; John Paul II made his act of entrustment on 25 March 1984 in union with the bishops of the world. Personal consecration to Mary is not worship offered to her — worship belongs to God alone — but the handing over of oneself to her intercession and care, so that she may lead the one consecrated more surely to Christ.

Prepare by going to confession and, where possible, by receiving Holy Communion on the day of the act. Choose a Marian feast — the Immaculate Conception on 8 December, the Immaculate Heart on the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, or the Assumption on 15 August. Kneel before an image of Our Lady and read the act of consecration aloud, slowly and deliberately, naming what you are entrusting to her: your body and soul, your family, your work. Renew the act each year on the same day, and keep it alive between times by a daily Marian prayer.

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