How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is one of the most widely prayed devotions of the modern Church. It is short — most people pray it in about seven minutes — and it is prayed on an ordinary set of rosary beads, which makes it easy to take up alongside the Rosary. This guide explains its origin and walks you through it step by step.

Where the Chaplet Comes From

The Divine Mercy devotion grew from the revelations given to Saint Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who lived in the early twentieth century. In her diary she recorded a series of encounters with Christ, who asked that his mercy be made known to the world. From these came the image of the Merciful Jesus, the Feast of Divine Mercy (the Sunday after Easter), and the Chaplet itself.

At the centre of the whole devotion is a single, freeing truth: that no sin is greater than the mercy of God, and that the soul who trusts in that mercy has nothing to fear. The motto of the devotion, written beneath the image of Christ, is simply "Jesus, I trust in You."

What You Need

You need only a standard set of rosary beads — the same beads you would use for the Rosary. The chaplet uses the large beads and the small beads in a different pattern from the Rosary, but the beads themselves are the same.

Step by Step

Begin with the Sign of the Cross, then:

Opening prayers (optional but traditional): "You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls... O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You." Then pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed.
On each large 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."
On each of the ten small beads of the decade, pray: "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world."
Repeat the large-bead and small-bead prayers for all five decades.
To conclude, pray three times: "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world."

That is the whole chaplet. Notice that there is no Hail Mary on the decade beads as in the Rosary — instead the prayers are offered directly to the Father, pleading the Passion of the Son.

When to Pray It

The chaplet can be prayed at any time, but tradition especially recommends the Three O'Clock Hour — three in the afternoon, the hour of Christ's death on the cross, called the Hour of Great Mercy. Many also pray it for the dying, since the devotion carries a strong promise of mercy for souls at the hour of death.

A Prayer of Trust

What makes the Divine Mercy Chaplet so loved is its simplicity and its confidence. It does not depend on eloquence or long meditation. It is a plain, repeated act of trust — offering the infinite worth of Christ's sacrifice to the Father, again and again, for ourselves and for a world in need of mercy.

If you are carrying a heavy burden, praying for someone who has wandered far, or sitting with the dying, the chaplet is a gentle and powerful prayer to have at hand. Take up your beads, make the Sign of the Cross, and begin: "Jesus, I trust in You."