What do a certain Polish nun and a certain Polish pope have in common? They both became saints and they were both instrumental in the institution of Divine Mercy Sunday, which offers many graces to the faithful. 

Be sure to thank Saint John Paul II and Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska this April 24 because as Divine Mercy Sunday rolls around again this year, the faithful have the opportunity to take refuge in the depths of Christ’s mercy by receiving either a plenary or partial indulgence.

Some facts about Divine Mercy Sunday, including the Church’s guidance on how to receive indulgences on the day, can be read below:

What is Divine Mercy Sunday?

Divine Mercy Sunday is the Sunday after Easter each year. Divine Mercy Sunday was first announced in an April 2000 homily given by John Paul II for the Mass celebrating the canonization of Maria Faustina Kowalska. 

Saint Faustina is a Polish nun who received prophetic messages from Christ. These messages including revelations about the infinite mercy of God – coined the “Divine Mercy” – and her obligation to spread the message to the world, as recorded in her diary, “Divine Mercy in my soul.”

The late pope said in his homily that “the light of divine mercy, which the Lord in a way wished to return to the world through Sr Faustina’s charism, will illumine the way for the men and women of the third millennium.”

John Paul II granted plenary and partial indulgences to the faithful who observed certain pious practices on Divine Mercy Sunday each year in a June 2002 decree. He did this in order to ​​inspire the faithful in devotion to the Divine Mercy. 

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