Divine Mercy Novena: 9 Days from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday
On the Sunday after Easter the Catholic Church keeps Divine Mercy Sunday. The feast comes from the diary of a young Polish nun, Saint Faustina Kowalska, who wrote down in the 1930s what she heard from Jesus about his mercy. He asked for this feast, for an image signed with the words Jesus, I trust in You, and for a novena to prepare for it, beginning on Good Friday.
This page gives the complete Divine Mercy Novena, the nine days from Good Friday to the Saturday after Easter, with the words of Jesus and the two prayers of each day, the Divine Mercy Chaplet bead by bead, and a free printable booklet of the same nine days, each one illustrated by a great painting, from Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son to Caravaggio’s Doubting Thomas.
✦ The Novena as a Free Printable Booklet
The nine days below are also a booklet you can print at home: twelve illuminated pages, one great painting for each day with the words of Jesus and the two prayers, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, bead by bead, on the last page. It is free, and there is nothing to fill in.
Download for US LetterDownload for A4
PDF, twelve pages, ready to print.
The cover of the booklet is our own painting of the Divine Mercy: Christ stepping forward in a white garment, one hand raised in blessing, the other at his heart, where two rays stream out, one pale and one red. Saint Faustina wrote that the pale ray stands for the Water that makes souls righteous and the red ray for the Blood that is the life of souls (Diary, 299). The first image was painted in Vilnius in 1934 by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski, under her direction.
How to Pray the Divine Mercy Novena
The novena begins on Good Friday and ends on the Saturday after Easter, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday. In 2027 it runs from Friday, March 26, to Saturday, April 3, and Divine Mercy Sunday falls on April 4.
Each day, Jesus asks for a different group of souls to be brought to him and immersed in the ocean of his mercy. How to pray it: read the words of Jesus for the day, say the two prayers that follow, the first to Jesus and the second to the Father, then pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which is given in full further down this page. If you can, pray at three in the afternoon, the hour of his death, which he called the hour of mercy.
These are the words with which Jesus introduced the novena to Saint Faustina:
I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fountain of My mercy, so that they may draw from it strength and refreshment and every grace they need in the hardships of life, and above all at the hour of death. Each day you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this sea of My mercy, and I will bring all these souls into the house of My Father. Each day you will ask My Father, through My bitter Passion, for graces for these souls.
The words of Jesus and the prayers on this page are our own translation from the Polish of Saint Faustina’s diary (§ 1209 to 1229, and § 476 for the Chaplet). On the fourth day we follow present usage: where the original speaks of “the pagans,” we write “those who do not believe in God.”
The Nine Days of the Divine Mercy Novena
Day 1: All Mankind, Especially Sinners
Today bring to Me all mankind, and especially all sinners, and immerse them in the sea of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter sorrow into which the loss of souls plunges Me.
Most merciful Jesus, whose very nature is to have pity on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon the trust we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart, and never let us leave it. We beg this of You by the love that unites You with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of mercy upon all mankind, and especially upon poor sinners. All mankind is enclosed in the most compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, show us Your mercy, so that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Rembrandt painted the father’s welcome at the very end of his life: read the story of Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son.
Day 2: Priests and Religious
Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. They gave Me the strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them, as through channels, My mercy flows out upon mankind.
Most merciful Jesus, from whom all that is good proceeds, increase Your grace in us, so that we may do works of mercy worthy of You, and that all who see them may glorify the Father of mercy who is in heaven.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of Your mercy upon the chosen company in Your vineyard, upon the souls of priests and religious. Endow them with the power of Your blessing, and for the love of the Heart of Your Son, in which they are enclosed, give them Your strength and Your light, so that they may lead others on the way of salvation, and with them sing the praise of Your unfathomable mercy for ever and ever. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Perugino painted the keys of the Kingdom on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in 1481; more of his work in our article on Perugino’s paintings.
Day 3: Devout and Faithful Souls
Today bring to Me all devout and faithful souls, and immerse them in the sea of My mercy. These souls consoled Me on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of a sea of bitterness.
Most merciful Jesus, who from the treasury of Your mercy give Your graces to all in great abundance, receive us into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart, and never let us leave it. We beg this of You by the boundless love with which Your Heart burns for the heavenly Father.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of mercy upon faithful souls, the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection, so that they may never lose their love or the treasure of the holy faith, but with all the host of angels and saints may glorify Your immeasurable mercy for ever and ever. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
The same painting opens the second station of our Stations of the Cross.
Day 4: Those Who Do Not Yet Know Him
Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know Me. I was thinking of them too in My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the sea of My mercy.
Most compassionate Jesus, You who are the light of the whole world, receive into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart the souls who do not yet know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them, so that they too, together with us, may praise Your wonderful mercy; and never let them leave the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of Your mercy upon the souls of those who do not believe in You and of those who do not yet know You, for they too are enclosed in the most compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know how great a happiness it is to love You. Grant that they too may praise the generosity of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
The Magi, the first of the nations to come and adore him: see our Adoration of the Magi paintings.
Day 5: Our Separated Brethren
Today bring to Me the souls of our separated brethren, and immerse them in the sea of My mercy. In My bitter Passion they tore My Body and My Heart, that is, My Church. When they return to unity with the Church, My wounds heal, and in this way they ease My Passion.
Most merciful Jesus, goodness itself, You do not refuse light to those who ask it of You. Receive into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart the souls of our separated brethren, and draw them by Your light into unity with the Church. Never let them leave the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart, but grant that they too may glorify the generosity of Your mercy.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of Your mercy upon the souls of our separated brethren, especially those who have squandered Your gifts and misused Your graces by persisting stubbornly in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He bore for them too, for they too are enclosed in the most compassionate Heart of Jesus. Grant that they too may praise Your great mercy for ever and ever. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
“There shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16). More in our Good Shepherd paintings.
Day 6: The Meek, the Humble and Little Children
Today bring to Me the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls are most like My Heart. They strengthened Me in the bitter agony of My Passion. I saw them as earthly angels who will keep watch at My altars. Upon them I pour out graces in torrents. Only a humble soul is able to receive My grace; to humble souls I give My confidence.
Most merciful Jesus, You Yourself said, “Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” Receive into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls fill all heaven with delight and are the special joy of the heavenly Father. They are a fragrant bouquet before the throne of God, a fragrance in which God Himself delights. They have a lasting home in Your most compassionate Heart, and they sing without ceasing a hymn of love and mercy for ever.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of mercy upon the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children, who are enclosed in the dwelling of the most compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are most like Your Son; their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love and delight You have in these souls: bless the whole world, so that all souls together may sing the praise of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).
Day 7: Those Who Glorify His Mercy
Today bring to Me the souls who especially honor and glorify My mercy, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls grieved most over My Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are a living reflection of My compassionate Heart. In the life to come they will shine with a special brightness. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I will defend each one of them in a special way at the hour of death.
Most merciful Jesus, whose Heart is love itself, receive into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart the souls who especially honor and glorify the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are strong with the very strength of God. In every affliction and adversity they go forward, trusting in Your mercy. They are united with You, and they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely: Your mercy will embrace them at the moment of death.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of mercy upon the souls who glorify and honor Your greatest attribute, Your unfathomable mercy, and who are enclosed in the most compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of works of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a song of mercy to the Most High. I beg You, O God, show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let the promise of Jesus be fulfilled in them: that He Himself will defend as His own glory, in life and above all at the hour of death, the souls who honor His unfathomable mercy. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
This is the Gospel read on Divine Mercy Sunday every year (John 20:19-31). See our Doubting Thomas paintings.
Day 8: The Souls in Purgatory
Today bring to Me the souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the streams of My Blood cool their burning. All these souls are greatly loved by Me; they are making satisfaction to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you knew their suffering, you would never stop offering for them the alms of the spirit and paying their debts to My justice.
Most merciful Jesus, You Yourself said that You desire mercy. And so I bring into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You and who must yet make satisfaction to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water that flowed from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, so that there too the power of Your mercy may be glorified.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of mercy upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enclosed in the most compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son and by all the bitterness that flooded His most holy soul, show Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just gaze. Look upon them only through the wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son, for we believe that Your goodness and compassion are without limit. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Saint Teresa of Avila prayed constantly for the souls in Purgatory: read her story in our article on Teresa of Avila.
Day 9: Lukewarm Souls
Today bring to Me the lukewarm souls, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. In the Garden of Olives My soul felt the deepest revulsion because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I said: Father, take this cup away from Me, if it is Your will. For them the last hope of salvation is to take refuge in My mercy.
Most compassionate Jesus, You who are compassion itself, I bring into the dwelling of Your most compassionate Heart the lukewarm souls. In this fire of Your pure love, let these frozen souls grow warm again, these souls who, like corpses, fill You with such revulsion. O most compassionate Jesus, use the omnipotence of Your mercy: draw them into the very blaze of Your love and give them holy love, for You can do all things.
Eternal Father, look with the eye of mercy upon the lukewarm souls, who are enclosed in the most compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three hours’ agony on the Cross: let them too glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.
Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Day nine sends us back to the Garden of Olives: see our Agony in the Garden paintings.
How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
Jesus dictated the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to Saint Faustina in Vilnius on September 13 and 14, 1935. It is prayed on an ordinary rosary and takes about seven minutes. Many people pray it every day at three in the afternoon, the hour of mercy, and it is the heart of the novena.
- To begin: Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed.
- On the large bead before each decade: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
- On the ten small beads of each decade: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
- To conclude, three times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Say the large bead and the ten small beads five times, once for each decade of the rosary, then the closing prayer three times. You may end with the words of the image: Jesus, I trust in You. The Chaplet is also on the last page of the booklet, with each bead drawn beside its prayer.
At the beginning, the Hail Mary is said with the Our Father and the Apostles’ Creed.
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Divine Mercy Sunday 2027
Divine Mercy Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter, the octave day of Easter. In 2027 it falls on Sunday, April 4. Saint John Paul II canonized Saint Faustina on April 30, 2000, and announced that day that the Second Sunday of Easter would be kept by the whole Church as Divine Mercy Sunday. He died on the eve of the feast, Saturday, April 2, 2005.
In her diary, Saint Faustina records the promise of Jesus that the soul who goes to Confession and receives Holy Communion on that day will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (Diary, 699). Since 2002 the Church has also granted a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, to the faithful who take part in the prayers and devotions of that Sunday. The Gospel of the day is the appearance of the risen Christ to Thomas, the same scene as Caravaggio’s painting on the seventh day of the novena.
Conclusion
The Divine Mercy Novena asks very little: nine days, a few minutes each, and the trust of the five words beneath the image. What it gives is a way of praying for everyone at once, sinners and priests, the faithful and those who do not yet believe, children, the dying and the dead, carried day after day into the same ocean of mercy.
If you love novenas, you may also want our St. Joseph novena, prayed in March just before Holy Week, and our Stations of the Cross for the Fridays of Lent.
Where These Paintings Hang
| Day | Painting | Artist | Date | Medium | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | The Return of the Prodigal Son | Rembrandt | About 1668 | Oil on canvas | Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg |
| Day 2 | Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter | Pietro Perugino | 1481 to 1482 | Fresco | Sistine Chapel, Vatican |
| Day 3 | Christ Carrying the Cross | El Greco | About 1577 to 1587 | Oil on canvas | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
| Day 4 | The Adoration of the Magi | Gentile da Fabriano | 1423 | Tempera on panel | Uffizi Gallery, Florence |
| Day 5 | The Good Shepherd | Attributed to Philippe de Champaigne | 17th century | Oil on canvas | Musée des Ursulines, Mâcon |
| Day 6 | Christ Blessing the Children | Nicolaes Maes | 1652 to 1653 | Oil on canvas | National Gallery, London |
| Day 7 | The Incredulity of Saint Thomas | Caravaggio | About 1601 to 1602 | Oil on canvas | Sanssouci Picture Gallery, Potsdam |
| Day 8 | Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory | Peter Paul Rubens | About 1630 to 1635 | Oil on wood | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
| Day 9 | Christ in Gethsemane | Carl Bloch | 1865 to 1879 | Oil painting | Chapel of Frederiksborg Palace, Hillerød |
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Divine Mercy Novena start?
The Divine Mercy Novena starts on Good Friday and ends on the Saturday after Easter, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday. In 2027 it runs from Friday, March 26, to Saturday, April 3, and Divine Mercy Sunday is on April 4.
How do you pray the Divine Mercy Novena?
Each day, read the words of Jesus for that day, which name the souls to bring to him, then say the prayer to Jesus and the prayer to the Father that follow, and finish with the Divine Mercy Chaplet. If you can, pray at three in the afternoon, the hour of mercy.
How do you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
On an ordinary rosary, begin with the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostles’ Creed. On each large bead say: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. On each of the ten small beads say: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. After the five decades, say three times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
What are the intentions for each day of the Divine Mercy Novena?
Day one: all mankind, especially sinners. Day two: priests and religious. Day three: devout and faithful souls. Day four: those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know him. Day five: our separated brethren. Day six: the meek, the humble and little children. Day seven: those who especially honor and glorify his mercy. Day eight: the souls in Purgatory. Day nine: lukewarm souls.
What is the hour of mercy?
The hour of mercy is three in the afternoon, the hour when Jesus died on the cross. In her diary Saint Faustina records that Jesus asked to be remembered at that hour and called it an hour of great mercy for the whole world. Many people pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at three o’clock every day.
Is there a printable Divine Mercy Novena PDF?
Yes. The nine days on this page are also a free booklet of twelve illuminated pages, in US Letter and A4, with one great painting for each day, the words of Jesus and the two prayers, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet bead by bead on the last page. The download links are at the top of this page.
