In the years 2020 and 2021,  Pope Francis was obliged to celebrate this feast in a private way in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Sassia, located near the Vatican.

Newsroom (21/04/2022 12:45, Gaudium Press) Next Sunday, April 24, Pope Francis will preside over the Feast of Divine Mercy at the Vatican. The news was confirmed by the Office of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations through a statement issued by the Holy See Press Office.

After two years of celebrations in private because of the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Holy Father will once again preside over the Eucharistic celebration on Mercy Sunday with the public present in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Holy Mass is scheduled to begin at 10am (Rome time).

Feast of Divine Mercy

On April 30, 2000, the day of Sister Faustina’s canonization, Pope Saint John Paul II instituted Divine Mercy Sunday. In the years 2020 and 2021, Francis was obliged to celebrate this feast in a private way in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Sassia, located near the Vatican.

The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, the Italian center of devotion to the Merciful Jesus, is already preparing a special program for next Sunday. Early in the morning the church will be open for exposition and Eucharistic adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Later in the morning, after the Holy Mass presided by Pope Francis in the Vatican Basilica, a procession with the image of the Merciful Jesus to St. Peter’s Square and the recitation of the Regina Caeli prayer are planned. (EPC)

Compiled by Teresa Joseph