As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding this year, CatholicVote is inviting the faithful to observe Lent with a daily prayer for the nation’s renewal.
The initiative – part of the official America Prays program launched by the White House – was developed in partnership with Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, and centers on a prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus written for the America 250 Jubilee.
“It is my earnest hope that every Catholic in America will unite with us in this commitment to prayer throughout the year and especially during the Season of Lent,” Cardinal Burke said, asking the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “to renew our hearts and to guide our nation in the way of truth, justice, and peace.”
In announcing the effort, Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO of CatholicVote, described the anniversary year as a time requiring a national examination of conscience. She pointed to the expansion of abortion access, entrenched political polarization, and a growing cultural hostility toward moral and religious convictions as signs of the country’s deeper spiritual fracture.
“Sin causes suffering,” Reinhardt wrote in the announcement, arguing that societies, like individuals, must repent in order to be renewed. “When sin is normalized, nations suffer.”
To illustrate the campaign’s spiritual emphasis, Reinhardt recounted a story often attributed to Pope St. John Paul II. Asked how he would defeat communism, the Pope reportedly replied, “I need nuns behind that wall,” a remark understood as a testament to the power of hidden prayer and sacrificial witness.
Reinhardt drew a parallel to the present moment.
“Hidden prayer. Fierce sacrifice. Souls willing to do battle where no one sees. We need Americans behind the walls of sin in this country,” she wrote. “We need men and women committed to pray daily to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the renewal only God can bring.”
Cardinal Burke said in a statement supporting the initiative that the approaching anniversary makes it “fitting that we turn with humble confidence to Almighty God, acknowledging our dependence upon His Providence and imploring His Divine Mercy.”
Written by Cardinal Burke, the prayer asks the Sacred Heart of Jesus to “mend what is broken and purify what has been corrupted” and to guide the United States in fidelity to God’s will. The campaign also entrusts the nation to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas.
As Lent begins, the initiative frames personal repentance and national life as inseparable realities, proposing prayer not as retreat from public life but as its foundation.
“Hearts and minds must change before kingdoms can,” Reinhardt wrote. “This prayer is where the fight begins.”
Catholics interested in joining the campaign can access the prayer on video here.
CatholicVote is an official partner of the White House’s America Prays program, and this collaboration with Cardinal Burke is the fruit of early conversations with the administration about how to inspire every American to pray for the nation during the 250th anniversary year.