Divine Mercy Novena
The Divine Mercy Novena is a nine-day Catholic devotion that Jesus asked St. Faustina Kowalska to make known, as recorded in her diary in the 1930s. It starts on Good Friday and ends on the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday. The Feast of Divine Mercy is celebrated the very next day, so the novena always falls in the same place on the Church calendar each year.
Each day has its own intention, a specific group of souls whom Christ asked to be brought before Him and "immersed in the ocean of My mercy." The usual way to pray the novena is to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet once a day for nine days running, keeping that day's intention in mind before you begin the first bead. This page includes all nine intentions in order, along with an original prayer for each one, so you can pray the full novena from Good Friday through the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.
How Each Day Works
Before praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet each day, pause and name that day's intention in your own words, offering the Chaplet you're about to pray for the souls described below. The prayer that follows each day's intention here is meant to help you do that, not to replace the Chaplet itself; pray both together.
Day 1 (Good Friday): For All Mankind, Especially Sinners
Merciful Jesus, today I bring before You the whole human family, and especially those furthest from You, the sinner who has stopped believing anyone could love them after what they've done. Let Your mercy reach the one who thinks they're beyond it. Draw every soul, including my own, back toward the fountain of Your compassion. Amen.
Day 2 (Holy Saturday): For Priests and Religious
Lord Jesus, today I pray for the men and women who have given their whole lives to Your Church: priests, deacons, sisters, and brothers. Strengthen them where they are tired, restore them where they are discouraged, and protect them where they are tempted. Let Your mercy be the well they draw from when their own strength runs dry. Amen.
Day 3 (Easter Sunday): For All Devout and Faithful Souls
Father, today I pray for the quietly faithful, the people who show up to pray and serve without needing to be seen, whose devotion never makes headlines. Reward their hidden faithfulness in ways only You can see. Increase their love, and let their steady example encourage the rest of us. Amen.
Day 4 (Easter Monday): For Those Who Do Not Yet Know Christ
Lord, today I bring before You everyone who has never met You, whether they've never heard Your name or have heard it and walked away unmoved. You died for them as fully as for anyone who already believes. Open a door into their life that only Your mercy could open, in Your own time and Your own way. Amen.
Day 5 (Easter Tuesday): For the Souls of Separated Brethren
Jesus, today I pray for Christians in traditions other than my own, every believer who loves You and follows You outside the walls I'm used to. Where division has hardened into suspicion, soften it. Unite what is scattered, not by erasing real differences, but by deepening a shared love for You that runs underneath them. Amen.
Day 6 (Easter Wednesday): For the Meek, the Humble, and Little Children
Father, today I pray for the meek and the humble, the people the world overlooks, and for children, who trust You without needing a reason. Protect the little ones from harm, and give the rest of us the humility to become like them again. Let Your mercy rest especially on those who have never learned to demand it. Amen.
Day 7 (Easter Thursday): For Those Who Venerate and Glorify Divine Mercy
Lord, today I pray for everyone who already venerates and glorifies Your mercy: everyone who prays this novena, this Chaplet, this same trust You asked of St. Faustina. Deepen that trust in me and in every soul who prays it beside me. Let our confidence in Your mercy become a light for the people watching us. Amen.
Day 8 (Easter Friday): For the Souls Detained in Purgatory
Merciful Jesus, today I pray for the souls being purified before they see Your face, including the loved ones I have buried and the souls no one on earth remembers to pray for anymore. Let this Chaplet, offered today, ease their waiting and hasten the day they enter fully into Your presence. Amen.
Day 9 (Easter Saturday, eve of Divine Mercy Sunday): For Souls Who Have Grown Lukewarm
Father, today, the last day of the novena, on the eve of Your feast of mercy, I pray for the souls who once loved You and have gone cold: the believer who stopped believing it mattered, and honestly, the parts of my own heart that have gone quiet too. Warm what has cooled. Wake up what has gone to sleep. Let this novena end the way it began: with mercy for the ones who need it most, one of whom might be me. Amen.
Scripture to pray
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.— Lamentations 3:22–23 (ESV)
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.— Luke 6:36 (ESV)
Frequently asked questions
What is the Divine Mercy Novena?
The Divine Mercy Novena is a nine-day Catholic devotion recorded in St. Faustina Kowalska's diary in the 1930s. Each of the nine days carries a specific intention, a group of souls Christ asked to be brought before Him, and the usual way to pray it is to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet once each day, offering that day's intention before you begin.
When does the Divine Mercy Novena start and end?
It always begins on Good Friday and ends on the Saturday of the following week, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, so the nine days run through Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, and the full first week of Easter. The Feast of Divine Mercy itself is celebrated the day after the novena ends. Because it's tied to Easter's moveable date, the exact calendar dates change every year.
Is the Divine Mercy Novena the same as the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
No. The Chaplet is the specific prayer, prayed on ordinary rosary beads in about ten to fifteen minutes. The Novena is the nine-day structure that wraps around it. During the Novena, you pray the same Chaplet each day, but you offer it for that day's particular intention rather than praying it generically. You can pray the Chaplet on its own, any day of the year, without doing the Novena at all.
Can the Divine Mercy Novena be prayed for the souls of the dead, or for someone in Purgatory?
Yes. Day 8 of the Novena, prayed on Easter Friday, is specifically for "the souls detained in Purgatory." Praying the Chaplet that day with a departed loved one in mind is one of the Novena's most traditional uses. If you want a page focused only on prayers for the dead, outside the nine-day Novena structure, findaprayer.com's dedicated prayer for souls in purgatory covers that on its own.
What if I miss a day of the Novena?
There's no formal penalty for missing a day. Pick back up the next day with that day's intention, or simply continue in order even if it means praying two intentions close together. What matters most is the trust the Novena is meant to build, not a flawless nine-day streak.
Is the Divine Mercy Novena and Chaplet prayed in Spanish too ("novena y coronilla a la divina misericordia")?
Yes — the Divine Mercy devotion is prayed worldwide in Spanish as well as English, under the name "la Coronilla de la Divina Misericordia" for the Chaplet and "la Novena de la Divina Misericordia" for the nine-day Novena. The nine-day structure and daily intentions on this page are the same regardless of the language you pray them in.