The Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a short, powerful prayer for mercy — for ourselves and the whole world — given to St. Faustina Kowalska. It is prayed on ordinary rosary beads and takes about seven minutes. Many pray it daily at 3:00 p.m., the Hour of Great Mercy.
Listen to the full chaplet, prayed through all five decades.
Five decades
What is the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a prayer for mercy — for ourselves and for the whole world — that Jesus entrusted to St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, in the 1930s. It is prayed on an ordinary set of rosary beads and asks the Eternal Father to have mercy for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of His Son. It is one of the most beloved Catholic devotions and takes only about seven minutes to pray.
How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
- 1
Begin with the Sign of the Cross
- 2
Optional: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed
- 3
On the Our Father bead, pray: “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.”
- 4
On each of the ten Hail Mary beads, pray: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
- 5
Repeat the Eternal Father prayer and the ten-bead decade for all five decades
- 6
To conclude, pray three times: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
- 7
Close with the Sign of the Cross
The prayers of the chaplet
The opening prayer (on the Our Father bead)
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 the ten beads
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
The closing (three times)
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Optional closing prayer
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.
When to pray it: the 3 o'clock Hour of Great Mercy
The chaplet can be prayed at any time. St. Faustina was asked to pray it especially at 3:00 p.m. — the Hour of Great Mercy, the hour Jesus died on the Cross — and as a novena beginning Good Friday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter).
Frequently asked questions
What is the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a Catholic prayer for God's mercy on us and on the whole world, given to St. Faustina Kowalska. It is prayed on ordinary rosary beads and takes about seven minutes, asking the Eternal Father to have mercy for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of Jesus.
How do you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet on rosary beads?
Begin with the Sign of the Cross and optionally the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Apostles' Creed. On each Our Father bead pray, 'Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son…' On each of the ten Hail Mary beads pray, 'For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.' Repeat for all five decades, then close by praying three times, 'Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.'
What time should you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
The chaplet can be prayed any time, but it is especially prayed at 3:00 p.m. — the Hour of Great Mercy, the hour Jesus died on the Cross. It is also prayed as a novena starting on Good Friday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter.
When is the Divine Mercy novena?
The Divine Mercy novena begins on Good Friday and is prayed for nine days, ending on the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday (the Second Sunday of Easter). Many continue praying the chaplet daily afterward.
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