Pope Saint John Paul II canonized Saint Faustina Kowalska in the year 2000 and during the ceremony established that every year, on the Sunday after Easter, the feast of Divine Mercy should be celebrated.
The pilgrim Pope made great efforts to spread this devotion which took strong root in his heart.
In 1967, as Cardinal, Karol Wojtyla presided over the solemn session that closed the diocesan informative process with the data and testimonies about the life and work of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. The acts were sent to Rome for the opening of the canonization process of the seer of Divine Mercy. After being elected as Pontiff, Saint John Paul II officiated the beatification (1993) and canonization (2000) ceremonies of Saint Faustina, coinciding with the second Sunday of Easter of both years.
“And you, Faustina, gift of God to our time, gift from the land of Poland to the whole Church, grant us to perceive the depth of divine mercy, help us to experience it in our life and to witness it to our brothers,” said the Pope during the canonization of his compatriot.
Some years earlier, in 1980, Saint John Paul II had already published his encyclical letter entitled “Dives in Misericordia”, on divine mercy, in which he encouraged the faithful to turn their gaze to the mystery of God’s merciful love. “It is appropriate now that we turn our gaze to this mystery: it is suggested by multiple experiences of the Church and contemporary man; it is also demanded by the invocations of so many human hearts, with their sufferings and hopes, their anxieties and expectations,” wrote the Polish Pope.
On April 30, 2000, the Pope proclaimed the second Sunday of Easter as the “Sunday of Divine Mercy” for the whole world.
In 2002, the Pontiff established that the “Sunday of Divine Mercy” should be enriched with indulgences, which can also benefit the sick, seafarers, or those who, for a just cause, cannot leave their home or perform an urgent activity. That same year, the Holy Father traveled to Krakow (Poland) and at the Shrine of Divine Mercy consecrated the world to Jesus of Divine Mercy.
“God, merciful Father, who has revealed your love in your Son Jesus Christ and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, today we entrust to you the destiny of the world and of every man,” were some of his prayer’s words.
Saint John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, on the eve of that year’s Divine Mercy Sunday, the Feast of Mercy that he instituted following the request of Jesus Christ to Saint Faustina. Pope Benedict XVI beatified John Paul II on May 1, 2011, on the second Sunday of Easter, and Pope Francis canonized him on April 27, 2014, also Feast of Mercy.
