Divine Mercy Chaplet
Summary
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a short prayer said on ordinary rosary beads. It takes about seven minutes. Instead of Hail Marys on the small beads, you pray one line asking mercy "on us and on the whole world," and on the large beads you offer the Father the Body and Blood of his Son.
What the Divine Mercy Chaplet Is
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a short prayer said on ordinary rosary beads. It takes about seven minutes. Instead of Hail Marys on the small beads, you pray one line asking mercy "on us and on the whole world," and on the large beads you offer the Father the Body and Blood of his Son.
It comes from the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish sister canonized by John Paul II on 30 April 2000. In the homily at that canonization he declared that the Second Sunday of Easter "from now on throughout the Church will be called 'Divine Mercy Sunday'."
The text below is the version published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, checked 2026-08-16. Diary paragraph numbers are the ones the USCCB cites.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet, in Full
Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening prayers (optional)
(Diary, 1319)
You expired, 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, three times (Diary, 84):
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in you!
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
For each of the five decades
On each Our Father bead:
V. Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, R. in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
On each of the ten Hail Mary beads:
V. For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, R. have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Repeat for all five decades.
Conclusion
Three times:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Closing prayer (optional)
(Diary, 950)
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. Amen.
Or (Roman Missal, Votive Mass of the Mercy of God):
O God, whose mercies are without number and whose treasure of goodness is infinite, graciously increase the faith of the people consecrated to you, that all may grasp and rightly understand by whose love they have been created, through whose Blood they have been redeemed, and by whose Spirit they have been reborn. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Structure at a Glance
| Where | What you pray | How many times |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Sign of the Cross | Once |
| Optional | "You expired, Jesus…" | Once |
| Optional | "O Blood and Water…" | Three times |
| Crucifix and opening beads | Our Father, Hail Mary, Apostles' Creed | Once each |
| Each large bead (5 total) | "Eternal Father, I offer you…" | Once per decade |
| Each small bead (10 per decade) | "For the sake of his sorrowful Passion…" | Ten times per decade |
| End | "Holy God, Holy Mighty One…" | Three times |
| Optional | Closing prayer | Once |
Five decades of ten. Fifty repetitions of the short petition, five of the offering. On a standard rosary, the same beads you would use for the Rosary, with different words.
Why the Prayer Is Built This Way
Two things are worth noticing, because they explain the shape.
The prayer on the large beads is not a petition. It is an offering: you place before the Father what his Son already gave, "in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world." Nothing is being generated by the person praying. Everything is being presented.
And the object is never only you. Every line ends the same way: and on the whole world. Fifty times in seven minutes you ask for something you cannot benefit from privately. That repetition is doing work on the person saying it.
Divine Mercy Sunday and the Novena
Divine Mercy Sunday falls on the Second Sunday of Easter, the octave day. John Paul II gave it that name at the canonization of St. Faustina on 30 April 2000.
Many Catholics pray the chaplet as a novena leading up to it, beginning on Good Friday and ending on the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday, which is nine days. This is a widespread devotional custom rather than a liturgical requirement, and parishes vary in how they observe it. If an indulgence or a specific parish observance matters to you, ask your pastor rather than an app.
It is also common to pray the chaplet at three in the afternoon, the hour associated with the death of Christ. Again, custom rather than rule.
If you want an app that tracks the nine days for you, our catholic novena app comparison covers the options.
Apps That Include the Divine Mercy Chaplet
Checked against the Apple App Store listing API on 2026-08-16.
| App | Publisher | What its listing offers | Rating (ratings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallow | Hallow, Inc. | Guided audio Divine Mercy Chaplet among daily prayer methods | 4.89 (373,205) |
| Laudate | Aycka Soft | Interactive Chaplet of Divine Mercy, plus a Latin version | 3.96 (3,721) |
| Rosary + Divine Mercy Chaplet | Marcello Pietrelli | Rosary and Chaplet, mysteries auto selected by day | 4.54 (89) |
| Daily Holy Rosary Prayer App (Rosary.Today) | Tomasz Powalka | Daily Mass, Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy | 4.83 (12,136) |
| Amen | Augustine Institute | Daily Catholic prayers and recordings | 4.92 (45,316) |
All five were free to download as of 2026-08-16. Hallow and Amen have paid tiers for their full libraries.
Seven Minutes You Have to Actually Find
The chaplet is short enough that time is never the honest obstacle. The obstacle is that the seven minutes get intercepted, usually by the phone you were going to pray with.
If that is the pattern, the practical fix is blocking rather than willpower. FaithLock is an iOS app that blocks chosen apps on a schedule using Apple's Family Controls, and puts a Bible verse with a short question in front of you when you try to open one during a locked window. It is confessionally neutral in what it does (block apps, show a verse) but its verse library is the Berean Standard Bible, a Protestant translation that omits the deuterocanonical books, and it carries no chaplet, no Rosary and no Catholic devotional texts. Pair it with one of the apps above rather than expecting it to replace them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet on rosary beads? Use a standard five decade rosary. On the crucifix and opening beads, pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Apostles' Creed. Then on each large bead say "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," and on each of the ten small beads "For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." Finish with "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world" three times.
How long does the Divine Mercy Chaplet take? About seven minutes at a normal pace, ten if you include the optional opening and closing prayers and pray slowly. It is roughly a third the length of a five decade Rosary.
What time do you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet? Any time. Three in the afternoon is the customary hour, associated with the death of Christ, and many people keep it. Nothing requires it.
When is Divine Mercy Sunday? The Second Sunday of Easter, the octave day of Easter. John Paul II gave it the name at St. Faustina's canonization on 30 April 2000.
Is the Divine Mercy Chaplet the same as the Rosary? No. It uses the same beads and takes about a third as long, but the prayers are different and the mysteries are not part of it. Praying the chaplet does not substitute for praying the Rosary, and neither is required.
The Verdict
If you have five minutes and no idea what to pray, pray this. The chaplet is the shortest structured Catholic devotion that still has a real shape to it, and the fact that every line ends "and on the whole world" makes it hard to pray selfishly even when you came to it selfishly. Learn the two repeated lines by heart and you never need an app again.
Sources: USCCB, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, checked 2026-08-16, citing the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska §§84, 950, 1319 and the Roman Missal · John Paul II, homily at the canonization of Sr Faustina Kowalska, 30 April 2000 §4 · App facts: Apple App Store listing API, checked 2026-08-16
Related: how to pray the rosary · rosary app · catholic novena app · catholic prayer app · catholic evening prayer
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet on rosary beads?
Use a standard five decade rosary. On the crucifix and opening beads, pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Apostles' Creed. Then on each large bead say "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," and on each of the ten small beads "For the sake of his sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." Finish with "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world" three times.
How long does the Divine Mercy Chaplet take?
About seven minutes at a normal pace, ten if you include the optional opening and closing prayers and pray slowly. It is roughly a third the length of a five decade Rosary.
What time do you pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
Any time. Three in the afternoon is the customary hour, associated with the death of Christ, and many people keep it. Nothing requires it.
When is Divine Mercy Sunday?
The Second Sunday of Easter, the octave day of Easter. John Paul II gave it the name at St. Faustina's canonization on 30 April 2000.
Is the Divine Mercy Chaplet the same as the Rosary?
No. It uses the same beads and takes about a third as long, but the prayers are different and the mysteries are not part of it. Praying the chaplet does not substitute for praying the Rosary, and neither is required.
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