DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

There is a beautiful church on a side street close to Saint Peter’s Square which is often missed by visitors to the Eternal City . Here on every Divine Mercy Sunday crowds gather for Mass in “ Chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia “ , a beautiful ornate church which was used by the Saxon pilgrims centuries ago.
A side altar was dedicated to the Divine Mercy by Pope John Paul II approximately ten years before his death. Prominently displayed over the tabernacle there is a copy of Jesus as the Divine Mercy and on the left a statue of Sister Faustina and a reliquary.
Last year the Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Ruini for a packed congregation which poured out on to the street . A brass band outside played hymns before Mass and confessions were being heard as early as 7.30 a.m. It was truly a festive occasion and appropriate for such a great event in the church of our time.
John Paul II will be remembered as the Divine Mercy pope for several reasons. During the Second World War as an underground seminarian he worked in the Solvay factory near the Lagiewniki. On his way home from work as a labourer he often visited Sister Faustina’s grave . She died in 1938 just before the outbreak of war. He never imagined at that time that he would one day be the Pope who would beatify her and canonize her. Late in his papacy he wrote that she was a simple girl but yet extraordinary ( John Paul II : Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way ). Without dismissing Justice, he wrote : “ It was as if Christ had wanted to reveal that the limit imposed upon evil ------- is ultimately Divine Mercy “ ( JohnPaul II : Memory and Identity ).
The celebration of the first Divine Mercy Sunday is memorable in that it was prophesized by Sister Faustina who suddenly found herself ( mystically ) in both the Holy Father’s chapel in Rome and in her convent chapel in Cracow. So closely connected were they that she could not distinguish the two celebrations ( Diary # 1044 ) . Years later, when the great day arrived the two celebrations were in fact connected by satellite on big screens in St. Peter’s Square , which is officially considered the Papal chapel; it was difficult to tell Cracow from Rome. Then the declaration came forth from the Pope “----ac de plurimorum Fratrum Nostrorum consilio, Beatam Mariam Faustinam Kowalska Sanctam esse decernimus et definimus ----“. Sister Faustina was at that moment inscribed in the catalogue of saints.
Pope John Paul II was intimately involved with Divine Mercy and died on the vigil of the sixth Divine Mercy Sunday. The vigil Mass was celebrated in his room as he lay dying. His death was announced to a small crowd in the Chiesa di Santo Spiritu at 11p.m. that night and the first public Mass in Rome after his death was celebrated in this church. The crowds poured on to St. Peter’s Square from the side streets well beyond midnight : adults , teenagers,and women with babies in prams. This Divine Mercy Sunday was different , quiet and solemn. An enormous crowd gathered for the requiem Mass which was celebrated by Cardinal Ratzinger .
Divine Mercy Sunday on May 1st. is awaited with great enthusiasm for on that day the following formula or an equivalent will be pronounced by Pope Benedict : ------de Congregationis de Causis Sanctorum cosulto, Auctoritate Nostra Apostolica facultatem facimus ut Venerabilis Servus Dei Giovanni Paolo Secundo Beati nomine in posterum appelletur eiusque festum ---------and here the date of his feast day will be given. Rome and the world will be jubilant. The ceremonies will be broadcast live to five major shrines in Cracow, Tanzania, Guadalupe, Lebanon and Fatima. The vigil ceremonies will include processing the statue of Our Lady of Rome followed by evening prayer . Eight parish churches will remain open all night for prayer and confessions. And appropriate to this great feast, the chaplet of The Divine Mercy will be recited before the Mass of beatification in Saint Peter’s square.