(LifeSiteNews) — President Donald Trump issued a presidential message Thursday praising the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for consecrating the country to Our Lord’s Sacred Heart ahead of the country’s semiquincentennial next month.

In the June 11 statement, Trump lauded the consecration, saying he and First Lady Melania Trump would be joining the bishops in prayer and highlighted the supposed Christian roots of the United States, the previous consecration of America to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. While many Catholics have offered similar praise to the USCCB for its consecration of the U.S. to the Sacred Heart on the second day of its Spring Plenary Assembly, others have suggested that the USCCB did not validly consecrate the country because the word “consecrate” was never mentioned in the prayer.

“Even in the centuries before the United States was conceived in nationhood, America was a land of prayer, a place of miracles, and home to some of the most faithful and devoted Christians to ever live,” the president wrote. “From the heroic bands of Christian missionaries, settlers, and explorers who tamed the unknown to spread the Gospel to the priests, chaplains, and churchgoers who forged our spirit in every generation since, the love of Jesus Christ has stood at the center of our identity and way of life.”

Trump noted the consecration of America by Archbishop John Carroll, the first bishop of the United States, to Our Lady under the title of the Immaculate Conception in 1792 and emphasized the historical significance of the bishops’ consecration to Our Lord’s Sacred Heart.

READ: James Fishback consecrates his Florida governor campaign to Sacred Heart of Jesus

“Today, this grand legacy of faith in America reaches yet another historic milestone as America’s Catholic Bishops consecrate our Nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, during which they will prayerfully ‘celebrate the abundant gifts’ that God has ‘given this nation, founded on the self-evident truths that our Creator has endowed all people with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’” he wrote.

The president also noted today’s feast of the Sacred Heart, calling it “a joyful celebration of God’s boundless love for all His creation.”

The USCCB’s June 11 consecration during its Spring Plenary Assembly was notably the first time America has been consecrated to Our Lord’s Sacred Heart in its nearly 250-year history.

READ: Bishops will consecrate US to Sacred Heart of Jesus to honor nation’s 250th anniversary

“Through this act of consecration, the bishops seek to renew devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to recognize the kingship of Christ, perfecting the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel,” the USCCB said in November when the conference voted to perform the consecration.

Catholic Republican U.S. Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia offered similar praise for the bishops’ consecration and announced his plans to introduce a resolution to officially recognize the consecration and “as the living sign of Christ’s divine love, mercy, humility, and reparation for sin.”

Yesterday, @USCCB consecrated our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Today, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart, I will introduce a resolution to officially recognize that great sign of Our Lord’s love.

Let’s reclaim June for Jesus’ Sacred Heart 🧵 pic.twitter.com/5V0iRnPiqI

— Rep. Riley M. Moore (@RepRileyMoore) June 12, 2026

While many American Catholics have expressed excitement at the nation’s consecration, others have suggested that it was invalid.

Father David Nix noted in an X post that the word “consecrate” does not appear once in the bishops’ consecration prayer and further pointed out the use of “humanistic hodgepodge like ‘community’ and ‘relationship’” in the prayer’s text.

This is directly from the USCCB website. Notice the title at the top says “consecration.” But read the actual prayer: The word CONSECRATE or CONSECRATION is NOT in the prayer! It’s just more humanistic hodge-podge like “community” and “relationship.” pic.twitter.com/CpbF2dOhiS

— Fr. Dave Nix (@FrDaveNix) June 12, 2026

Indeed, compared with Pope Leo XIII’s 1899 act of consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart, which explicitly uses the word “consecrate,” the bishops’ prayer was considerably weaker.

The first two paragraphs of Leo XIII’s act of consecration powerfully state:

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy most Sacred Heart.

Be Thou King, 0 Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof and call them back to the harbour of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.

This week’s act of consecration, on the other hand, only asked for the U.S. to be “blessed” and used considerably milder language. The act of consecration also bizarrely quoted the Declaration of Independence, a non-Catholic and arguably anti-Catholic document.