ABSTRACT
A gradual symbolization of the Heart is discernible in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries which encodes it with remembered meanings rather than part of a portrait-icon, on the one hand, or a visceral floating organ of glistening tissue exuding flames, on the other. The discourse on the Heart as “symbol” goes back, as we have seen, to the Vatican’s review of the devotion in the 1720s, and resounded in every debate and controversy about the devotion since. There is no reason, in fact, given the inherent tension between symbol and organ, why devotees can’t affirm both aspects, and certainly that is what the catechists sought to achieve in their didactics. Yet we may see the symbolic aspect emerge to prominence during the twentieth century, at least in certain kinds of representations of the Sacred Heart, and in some cases the heart has vanished altogether from portrayals of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. J. Thissen, Roermond, “I am King”, Church of St. Joseph, Beringe, Limburg, 1938. Photo: E. Geelen. Statue of a robed figure with a crown, raising one hand in a gesture of blessing or greeting. The statue stands on a pedestal with the inscription Rex Sum Ego. The background features a brick building with arched windows, likely a church. The statue is surrounded by greenery. https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003707646/87bed984-93ea-4fa0-a5ee-cf8528781e0a/content/Fig-7.jpg"/>
