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Photo at Divine Mercy Service 2012. click for larger

St. John Paul II and 'Divine Mercy' Sunday

St. Faustina and the 'Divine Mercy' devotion to Jesus (read more here)

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The devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on private revelations received by Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) a Polish nun. Her diary is available as 'Divine Mercy in my Soul’.

Pope John Paul II proclaimed the feast of Divine Mercy at her canonisation on April 30, 2000 more

Pope John Paul II died age 84, on the Vigil of the 'Feast of Divine Mercy', Saturday, April 02, 2005

John Paul II died after the Vigil Mass of Divine Mercy Sunday, the feast that he himself instituted five years earlier for the universal Church. Bishop Renato Boccardo, secretary-general of Vatican City State, led the faithful in prayer in St. Peter's Square after the announcement of the Pope's death. He called John Paul II "the apostle of mercy". [Pope John Paul II - Karol Józef Wojtyla 1920-2005 Bio]

At the Mass for John Paul II's eternal rest, a Vatican official read a message the Pope had prepared for Divine Mercy Sunday. Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the Vatican Secretariat of State, told the crowd of 130,000 in St. Peter's Square that he read the text "with much honour and much nostalgia" and "by the explicit indication" of the Pope himself.

"To humanity, which at times seems to be lost and dominated by the power of evil, egoism and fear, the risen Lord offers as a gift his love that forgives, reconciles and reopens the spirit to hope," affirmed the Pope in his posthumous message. "It is love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much need the world has to understand and accept Divine Mercy!".

John Paul II proclaimed the feast of Divine Mercy for the universal Church, when canonising Polish nun and mystic Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) on April 30, 2000. In his message for the recitation of the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father wrote: "Lord, who with your death and resurrection reveal the love of the Father, we believe in you and with confidence repeat to you today: Jesus, I trust in you, have mercy on us and on the whole world." (read on Zenit)

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John Paul II as an Apostle of Mercy - Interview With Bishop Renato Boccardo - Vatican City, April 3, 2005 (read this on Zenit) In this interview with ZENIT, Bishop Boccardo illustrates the transcendence of the message given by Christ through Sister Faustina Kowalska

Q: At the international priests' retreat you have been invited to speak about the Pope as an apostle of mercy. In what way was the Pope an apostle of mercy?

Bishop Boccardo: I think that in the almost 27 years of his pontificate, the Pope has been an apostle of mercy at two levels. First of all, through his teaching given in various documents and in particular done through his encyclical "Dives in Misericordia." But at the same time, the second dimension is through his gestures. It is his gestures which remain in the memory and conscience of the Church beyond his words. I'm thinking of the pardon given to his would-be assassin and the visit made to him in prison. I'm thinking of the closeness manifested many times with all those who in a particular way need Divine Mercy. That is to say, those sick with AIDS, elderly abandoned people, the sick in general. I'm thinking of him on Good Friday in St. Peter's Basilica, welcoming pilgrims with the sacrament of confession, the highest instrument of the mercy of God. It seems to me that Pope John Paul II linked together words and gestures of mercy. A mercy which manifests itself right there through a caress, a listening ear, through the way he looked intensively at those who suffer. I'm thinking of the example of mercy -- that of offering the chance of forgiveness during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Therefore, through his person and through his teaching, the Pope has recalled the Church to this fundamental dimension of the Christian life.

Q: John Paul II said: "Mercy, unique hope for the world." Why did he give so much importance to Divine Mercy for the future of the world?

Bishop Boccardo: Our postmodern and modern world seems to have experienced every possible way to try to improve its life through scientific and technical progress and yet continues to experience a huge poverty. Let's go back to the words of the Gospel: What worth is it for man to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul? And our very modern world, so rich in science and technological discoveries, finds itself in the end incapable of finding meaning in its own existence. It finds itself divided within, driven by hate, war and death and struggles to find the strength and reasons to live and hope.

And we Christians believe that our reason and our hope for existing is to be found only in the heart of God. So our postmodern world, plunged in its own poverty, needs to hear more than ever the proclamation of the grace and mercy which comes from above. It's in accepting this greater mystery, which comes to us gratuitously through mercy, that the world will find the meaning of its existence.

Q: What impact, if any, has the feast of Divine Mercy had on the life of the Church?

Bishop Boccardo: Above all, I believe that this feast of Divine Mercy is a gift that the Pope John Paul II has made to the Church, establishing it on the first Sunday after Easter -- a gift which probably responds to an expectancy in our world which more than ever experiences the need for mercy and goodness. And we know that the source, the fountain of mercy and goodness is in the heart of God. It is important that the Church becomes ever more, as the Pope said several times, minister of this mercy and goodness of God. So now, by declaring a day specifically set aside for the celebration and proclamation of the mercy of God, which through the sacrifice of Christ reaches all mankind, this day becomes a work of evangelization.

Q: Why did the Holy Father place the feast of Divine Mercy so close to Easter?

Bishop Boccardo: Celebrating Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter makes for, I would say, a reaffirmation of the greatness of the Easter mystery. God the Father wanting to save humanity sent his Son. And his Son gave his life for humanity. What is this, then, if not the mercy of God?

But of course, Divine Mercy Sunday cannot remain a private devotion. It's a feast that redresses and encompasses the whole of the life of the Church. It is strictly linked to the Easter mystery. The same Easter mystery reveals the mercy of God and the goodness of God with regard to humanity.

Q: Why have two cardinals and two bishops decided to propose this retreat to priests?

Bishop Boccardo: I just have to say that I was present with the Pope in the celebration of the dedication of the sanctuary in Lagiewniki. And I was really struck by what the Pope said during the celebration: "Who would have thought that the young man with wooden clogs on his feet coming home from work every evening and stopping here in the Chapel of Divine Mercy to pray, would one day be coming back as Pope to consecrate this sanctuary."

That's to say, the mysterious story that Divine Providence writes in the life of men -- intensive moments of great emotion. Then, we also know that from that place, from that shrine the devotion of Divine Mercy radiates throughout the world. Certainly, a richness of grace and blessing. Therefore, I hope and think that this international retreat will be an effusion of grace, a blessing for those who participate in it and through them for Church.

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Beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday 2011

Announcement of the Beatification of the Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II  

Statement from the General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. "The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales welcome with great joy the news that the Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II will be beatified by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, in May this year. The choice of the First Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, for the Beatification ceremony in Rome has much significance. Pope John Paul II put Divine Mercy at the centre of his spiritual life, his apostolic testimony and his teaching. It was also on the eve of this Sunday in 2005 that he surrendered his soul to the infinite mercy of his Lord and Saviour." "The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales welcome with great joy the news that the Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II will be beatified by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, in May this year. The choice of the First Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, for the Beatification ceremony in Rome has much significance. Pope John Paul II put Divine Mercy at the centre of his spiritual life, his apostolic testimony and his teaching. It was also on the eve of this Sunday in 2005 that he surrendered his soul to the infinite mercy of his Lord and Saviour." "The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales welcome with great joy the news that the Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II will be beatified by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, in May this year. The choice of the First Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, for the Beatification ceremony in Rome has much significance. Pope John Paul II put Divine Mercy at the centre of his spiritual life, his apostolic testimony and his teaching. It was also on the eve of this Sunday in 2005 that he surrendered his soul to the infinite mercy of his Lord and Saviour." ~ Fr Marcus Stock General Secretary - Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales - 14 January 2011

On Divine Mercy Sunday, 27 April 2014,  Pope Francis presided over the Holy Mass for the Canonisation of
Popes John XXIII and John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. YouTube Vatican Channel | www.karol-wojtyla.org

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LINKS: Divine Mercy page | other links have moved to: DM links page
download Novena as pdf or rtf file | Plenary indulgence Vatican link

See also Devotion to the 'Sacred Heart of Jesus' link#1 | link#2 | link#3 | link#4

updated (code + links) Dec 21 v1.02  ~ ê¿ê
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'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.' 1 John 1:9 NIV

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