(ZENIT News / Paris, 06.16.2026).- The film Sacré-Coeur (known in Spanish as «Su Reinado No Tiene Fin«), directed by husband and wife Steven and Sabrina Gunnell, premiered on September 11, 2025. As ZENIT reported at the time, it generated controversy, but achieved success in Catholic circles, possibly due to the Streisand effect (when something produces the opposite effect to the one sought. In this case, wanting to hide it brought about a backlash; and that led to media exposure).
The film recounts the revelations experienced by the nun Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque between 1673 and 1675 in Paray-le-Monial, in the Burgundy region of France. It also includes commentaries from various priests and witnesses on devotion to the Sacred Heart and accounts of their experiences.
In France, its audience of over 500,000 viewers led to its inclusion on the official list of works eligible for the 2026 César Awards. But there is another, more recent effect. According to the Paray-le-Monial Shrine pilgrimages have increased by 20% in the area where the Sacred Heart apparitions occurred.
Public interest in this low-budget production, which was initially blocked by the Mayor of Marseille and only made public after receiving a judge’s permission, exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. Directors Sabrina and Steven Gunnell decided to produce the film after visiting the Shrine in Burgundy. Why did this success emerge during a time of great secularization and decline of Christianity in the West?
The unease of viewers regarding the apparitions of Jesus Christ to a 17th-century nun perhaps reflects a spiritual need in today’s society, often underestimated and marginalized in the media. Little analysis is given to the widespread uncertainty and loneliness in the public’s and pilgrims’ responses as a need for solace and a search for authentic love in a fluid and superficial society. Furthermore, there is a large Catholic audience that desires to consume audiovisual materials that nourish and/or strengthen their faith.
Many people are unaware of the manipulation they receive from powerful social, political, and economic forces, preoccupied with steering minds toward a purely materialistic and comfortable approach to life, if not a hedonistic and atheistic one. This influence manifests itself in the large number of current producers lacking transcendent values and the abundance of reports about the few scandals involving members of the clergy. The arrival of non-habitual worshippers to Paray-le-Monial, whether out of curiosity or for a higher quest, and who have left the Shrine with an answer or an extra desire for inner cultivation, shows that the values of the Gospel are still very necessary today.
