“I savor the silence, I savor this presence, and I find the presence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I didn't think I’d stay so long because I had to work, but I'm going home deeply moved." A 35-year-old woman who came straight from Switzerland shared this moving testimony with Geneviève Rey, a volunteer who welcomes pilgrims to the shrine of Paray-le-Monial in Saône-et-Loire, France.
The Sacred Heart appeared there to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century.
The impact of a film on the Sacred Heart
“I just saw Sacred Heart at the cinema,” the visitor told her. “I'm not Catholic. There were 350 people in the theater. I had to wait for the next showing to see it. Today, I'm in Paray and I want to see everything I saw on the internet and in the film with my own eyes.”
According to Geneviève, who patiently listens to many visitors, her testimony isn’t an isolated one. The film Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart), released in theaters in France on October 1, 2025, has planted something in the hearts of many people who went to see it.
By early December, Sacré-Cœur had attracted more than 460,000 viewers in France.
This was an unexpected success for this low-budget film, which then traveled along with its two directors to Lebanon, where a large segment of the population speaks French, for a few preview screenings.
“It was completely crazy! Nearly 6,000 tickets were sold for the previews. We love you, Lebanese people!” enthused Steven Gunnell on Facebook.
After being delighted by Pope Leo XIV's visit at the end of November, the country of the Cedar was able to watch this documentary film starting December 18.
A wave of pilgrims
It's said Sacré-Coeur impacts everyone who watches it. So much so that in France, whether they are believers or non-believers, many people have wanted to visit the site of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Paray-le-Monial, Burgundy.
According to Béatrice de Bastard, who works at the shrine, since the beginning of October, “more than a hundred” people, including this Swiss woman from Valais, have made the trip and made their presence known upon arrival.
“They come from all over France and have often traveled hundreds of miles to visit the shrine,” she says. “Some even take Blablacar rides (a budget carpooling/busing service, editor’s note) at night and leave the next day. They have an astonishing thirst for discovery.”
All of them have seen this documentary film, which features powerful testimonies of faith centered on the heart of Christ, who loves unconditionally.
What’s the most visited part of the shrine? ”The Chapel of Apparitions," replies Béatrice de Bastard without hesitation, adding that many come with the desire to go to confession.
“In the film, Paray-le-Monial is presented as a place of consolation, conversion, and peace. Hence the dozens of requests for confession. Some haven't gone in decades.”
On the peripheries of the Church
“A number of these visitors are on the peripheries of the Church,” says Geneviève Rey, who interacts with them a lot. “They stand in front of the Chapel of Apparitions and don't dare to enter, even though it says ‘Jesus is waiting for you.’”
Starting on October 3, two days after the release of Sacré-Cœur, she noticed a larger crowd at the shrine, especially young people.
“Today, it's winter, and there really are more people than in previous years.” The shrine receives dozens of calls from visitors who want to meet with a priest or obtain a Sauvegarde du Sacré-Cœur (a small cloth representation of the Sacred Heart), orders for which have skyrocketed since the film's release.
To respond to this interest as best as possible, the shrine organized a small meeting with volunteers and the city's tourist office to “give them the right words” about the apparitions and the shrine.
“It's so powerful!”
Since this unexpected influx of visitors to the shrine, Geneviève has been taking note of every testimony she receives and sending them regularly to the rector of the shrine.
On October 12, for example, a woman in her 50s approached her as she was leaving the Chapel of St. John. She had gone to see Sacré-Cœur a few days earlier.
“I wanted to come here and see it with my own eyes. It's even more powerful than in the movie! What is everyone looking at on that table?” she asks, pointing to the Blessed Sacrament. “I’d like to stay here all the time, it's so powerful!” she continues. “I would like Jesus to fill me completely!”
A couple came from Le Creusot in early October, motivated by their daughter who had seen Sacré-Cœur. “We aren’t practicing Catholics,” they explained. “Seeing the transformation in our daughter, we wanted to experience what she was experiencing. The three of us went to Mass in Autun on Sunday. And we came to see the shrine.”
The visit moved them deeply, as they discovered a message that was “gentler than in the movies.”
A 24-year-old girl from Lille, who isn’t very religious, said she felt her faith had been strengthened after her visit: “Here, I understood that I had to go to Mass every Sunday, at least. It will help me.”
These are little stories that Geneviève treasures as signs that “something is happening.”
