On Sunday, April 11, Pope Francis presided, for the second time, at the Mass for the Feast of Divine Mercy in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome. The Holy Mass was celebrated in private at 10:30 a.m. and, at the end, from the church itself, the Pope led the prayer of the Regina Coeli, from there, and not from the Library of the Apostolic Palace, as he is doing the last Sundays, because of health restrictions.
Both the Holy Mass and the Pope's Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday, April 11, were broadcast live on television by Vatican Media and transmitted by Vatican News with commentary in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.
The feast of Divine Mercy comes from the message of God's mercy received by Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), which calls for trust in God and an attitude of mercy toward one's neighbor. It calls to proclaim and pray for Divine Mercy for the world, including the practice of new forms of worship.
Devotion to the Divine Mercy grew very rapidly after the beatification (April 18, 1993) and canonization (April 30, 2000) of Sister Faustina and also due to the pilgrimages of Pope John Paul II to Lagiewniki (1997 and 2002).
In the year 2000 Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and during the ceremony declared: "It is therefore important that we fully embrace the message transmitted to us by the Word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be designated 'Divine Mercy Sunday'". (Homily, April 30, 2000). Both Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have recommended this devotion.
