Black Elk's Devotion to the Sacred Heart

In his last month's Black Elk, who was about 85 years old, practiced a devotion that had been part of Jesuit tradition since 1675. This was done because the visions of a French nun, Margaret Mary Alacoke, promised that one would not die in disgrace or without a last anointing if one received communion on nine first Fridays. Devotees thought that the practice assured one of finding refuge in the sacred heart of Jesus when they died. The evidence we have points to Black Elk being a sincere Christian and remaining so until the end of his life.