The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

A chaplet is a short string of prayers, usually counted on beads. This one comes from St. Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), a Polish nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She wrote in her diary that in September 1935, in Vilnius (then in Poland, now Lithuania), Jesus taught her this prayer. These are private revelations: the Church judges them to contain nothing against faith, but Catholics are not required to believe them (see CCC 67).

Her writings had a complicated history. Because of poor translations, the Holy See in 1959 restricted the spread of the devotion in the forms then promoted; after a fresh study led partly by the Archbishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła, the restriction was lifted in 1978. As Pope John Paul II he canonized Faustina on 30 April 2000 and named the Second Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday.

Its 3 o’clock custom recalls the hour of Jesus’ death (Mark 15:34).

1. Use ordinary rosary beads. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, an Our Father, a Hail Mary and the Apostles’ Creed.
2. On each large bead, pray: “Eternal Father…” (below).
3. On each of the ten small beads, pray: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion…”
4. Repeat for five decades.
5. To close, pray three times: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One…”

The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001) §154 welcomes the devotion and asks that it be understood in the light of the Easter liturgy, especially the Second Sunday of Easter. Like any private devotion, it serves the Church’s worship and does not replace it (CCC 1675). No prayer guarantees a particular outcome; it is an act of trust in God’s mercy.