The Divine Mercy Chaplet
A 7-minute prayer of trust in the mercy of God — full text and how to pray it.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet was given to St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, in the 1930s. It is prayed on a rosary and asks the Father to look on the Passion of his Son and have mercy on us and the whole world.
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A standard rosary (5 decades). The chaplet uses the same bead structure.
Opening prayers (on the crucifix and first 3 beads)
- Sign of the Cross.
- Optional opening: 'You expired, O Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us.'
- Then: 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, 1 Apostles' Creed.
On the 'Our Father' beads (5 times)
'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 10 'Hail Mary' beads (50 times total)
'For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.'
Closing (3 times)
'Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.' Then make the Sign of the Cross.
The 3 o'clock Hour of Mercy
Christ died at 3pm. Praying the chaplet at this hour is a particularly powerful Catholic tradition — many parishes broadcast it. If 3pm is impossible, even a moment of silence acknowledging the hour counts.
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