The Roman Catholic tradition includes a number of devotions to Jesus Christ. Like all Catholic devotions, these prayer forms are not part of the official public liturgy of the Church but are based on the popular spiritual practices of Roman Catholics. Many are officially approved by the Holy See as suitable for spiritual growth but not necessary for salvation.
Some devotions arise from private revelations, or personal religious experiences of saints. The Church has a tradition of thorough investigation of such private revelations and the lives of candidates for sainthood to assure that no natural or scientific explanation can, at the time of investigation, account for any miracles involved. Often an approved devotion of the Church has a particular prayer form, an image and sometimes specific promises for those who follow the devotion.
The Holy Name of Jesus refers to the theological and devotional use of the name of Jesus. The reverence and affection with which Christians have regarded the Holy Name of Jesus goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. The devotions and venerations also extend to the IHS christogram (a monogram of the Holy Name), derived from the Greek word for Jesus ΙΗΣΟΥΣ (sometimes erroneously interpreted as Iesus Hominum Salvator, Jesus saviour of mankind), representing the Holy Name.
Devotions to the Holy Name of Jesus exist both in Eastern and Western Christianity. The feast day is celebrated either as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus or as that of Circumcision of Jesus, in various Christian churches.