Catholic soldiers started wearing the badge of the Sacred Heart on their uniforms during the Counter-Revolution in the Vendée in 1793.
Almost 100 years later, a version with the inscription "Stop! the Heart of Jesus is here!" became popularized by the Papal Zouaves.
The story goes that a mother of a Papal Zouave embroided on a cloth shield the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with flames, crown of thorns, and Cross just as was seen by the visionary St. Margaret Alacoque. The mother hung the shield around the neck of her pius son before he left to join the unit.
The mother's gift gave the young Zouave courage. He launched himself with boldness into hard-fought and bloody battles. During one of those engagements, he was hit in the chest with a bullet. However, the bullet was stopped and became stuck in the image of the Heart of Jesus that hung from his neck.
Hearing about this miracle, Bl. Pius IX granted a special blessing to all scapulars that were made in the same model as the affectionate mother's. The devotion became popular among the Zouaves, many of them sewed the shield on the inside of their uniform over their heart. The devotion was continued by other Catholic soldiers such as the Cristeros and those who opposed the Castro regime.
This shirt gives you the opportunity to continue the Sacred Heart Shield devotion in our own time, by wearing it as an undershirt in your Army uniform. The shirt has been picked to match closely with Tan-499 to be complient with AR-670-1.
• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz./yd.² (142 g/m²)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping