Divine Mercy Chaplet

Traditionally prayed daily.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a Catholic prayer devotion revealed to Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), a Polish nun canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. According to her Diary, Jesus appeared to her in 1935 and taught her the chaplet as a way to invoke God’s mercy for the world, particularly sinners and the dying. The chaplet is prayed on ordinary rosary beads and centers on offering the “Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity” of Christ to the Father in atonement for sin, uniting the faithful’s intercession with the sacrifice of the Cross.

Pope John Paul II strongly promoted the message of Divine Mercy, especially in his 2002 encyclical Dives in Misericordia and through establishing Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter) as a universal feast. The chaplet may be prayed at any time, but 3 p.m.—the “Hour of Mercy,” recalling Christ’s death—is considered especially fitting. Today the devotion is widely practiced throughout the Catholic world as a daily appeal for forgiveness, trust in Jesus, and compassion toward others.

How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

Pray one each of the following:

Sign the Cross
Our Father
Hail Mary
Apostles’ Creed

Pray the following decate five times:

Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul, and divinity of your dearly, beloved Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, in attonement for my sins and those of the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Closing Prayers

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Jesus, I trust in you.
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion—inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen.