Bound in Love

Divine Mercy Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter, established as a universal feast in the Catholic Church by Pope St.  John Paul II on April 30, 2000, during the canonization of St.  Faustina Kowalska. The feast was instituted in response to revelations St.  Faustina received from Jesus, who asked her to promote a devotion to His Divine Mercy.  The central promise of the day is that any soul who goes to Confession and receives Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment, as recorded in her Diary (entry 699). 

St. Faustina, a Polish nun born in 1905, documented over 1,800 revelations from Jesus between 1931 and 1938.  She was instructed to have the Divine Mercy Image painted — depicting Jesus with His right hand raised in blessing and His left hand touching His heart, with the inscription “Jesus, I trust in You” — and to promote the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a prayer recited at the “Hour of Mercy” (3 p.m.), the time of Christ’s death on the Cross. 

The feast is not only a day of personal grace but also a call to trust in God’s mercy, practice the works of mercy, and proclaim the message of Divine Mercy.  Pope John Paul II emphasized that this devotion was especially timely during a period of global unrest and evil ideologies, positioning Divine Mercy as mankind’s last hope of salvation.  The feast is now celebrated worldwide, with special Masses, Eucharistic adoration, confessions, and the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. 

The Original Divine Mercy Image is housed in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Vilnius, Lithuania, where it has been venerated since its creation in 1934 by artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski under the direction of Saint Faustina Kowalska and her spiritual director, Blessed Fr.  Michał Sopoćko. This sacred artwork is the only officially recognized and historically accurate representation of the Divine Mercy vision, and it is preserved in its original form at the Original Divine Mercy Institute, located at Dominikonų g.  14-4, Vilnius, 01131 Vilniaus m. sav., Lithuania.The Original Divine Mercy Institute is the official custodian of the image and produces the world’s only hi-resolution replicas (over 10,000 Megabytes, 8,000 dpi) of the original painting, available on museum-grade paper and canvas.  These prints are uniquely numbered, exclusively licensed by the Archdiocese of Vilnius, and come with a 100% money-back guarantee.  The institute also hosts the annual Divine Mercy Summit, immersive pilgrimages to Vilnius, and the Lent Tour 2026, which brings the high-resolution image on a 3,500-mile journey across the world.