Within the framework of the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which the Catholic Church celebrates in June, an initiative promoted by lay people has taken his image to large billboards in different cities of Mexico with the purpose of sharing a message of faith and hope.

The advertisements can be seen in Mexico City, in the State of Mexico, Puebla, Guanajuato and Jalisco, where motorists and passers-by find the image of the Sacred Heart accompanied by phrases such as: "I trust in you."

Although the campaign responds to the same inspiration, in each state it has been promoted by different people, united by the desire to make this devotion visible in the public space.

In Guadalajara, one of the cities with the greatest presence in the campaign, the project is headed by Brenda Lourdes del Rio, an activist who, together with a businessman and a group of friends whom she describes as "brothers in the faith" made it possible to install the designs in different parts of the city.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, Del Rio explained that in Guadalajara 12 billboards were placed 12 meters wide by eight meters high "that intercept the looks and souls of motorists and passers-by." With the intention of giving the message: "Do not be afraid, I will be your strength".

He also pointed out that another of the objectives of the campaign is to remember the deep historical relationship of Mexico with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to reaffirm that "Christ is the king of Mexico and his heart is the center of the heartbeat of Mexico."

The activist recalled that the Catholic Church officially consecrated Mexico to Christ the King on January 11, 1914 and that, in 1926, at the beginning of the religious persecution known as the Cristero War, the Mexican Episcopate made a solemn national consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"Our grandparents and great-grandparents enthroned images of the Sacred Heart in their homes and today they are missing from ours and our children's homes and we see the cruel consequences that affect Mexico," he said.

A reminder of the promises of the Sacred Heart

The campaign also seeks to make present the promises associated with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, disseminated from the private revelations received by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the seventeenth century, in France.

Among the so-called twelve promises are to grant the graces necessary for each state of life; bringing peace to families; comfort in afflictions; to be a safe refuge during life and especially at the hour of death; among others.

Jesus also promised to bless the places where his image would be displayed and venerated, an idea that directly inspired this campaign. In this sense, Del Río assured that the message of the billboards is to tell the people of Mexico "that only by returning to God will we have peace."

His reflection takes place in a context marked by the violence that the country is experiencing. The six-year term of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador concluded as one of the most violent in Mexico's recent history. Between December 1, 2018 and September 30, 2024, nearly 200,000 homicides were registered, according to the MX report: The War in Numbers, prepared by the T-ResearchMX agency.

The same report indicates that, since the beginning of the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum, more than 41 thousand homicides have been counted.

Faced with this reality, Del Río said that the campaign seeks to remember that "if the people love and honor Christ, there will be peace, but if they throw Him out of their hearts, we live violence and death."