National Shrine of the Divine Mercy

The Story

The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy stands on Eden Hill in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the care of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. It is the principal center in the United States for the Divine Mercy devotion associated with St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish religious sister to whom Jesus is reported to have revealed the message of Divine Mercy in the 1930s. The Marians came to Eden Hill in 1944, shortly after purchasing the property, and dedicated themselves to spreading the Divine Mercy message in America. As pilgrims arrived in growing numbers after the Second World War, the community resolved to build a shrine in thanksgiving. Ground was broken in 1950, and the church, built largely under local craftsman Antonio Guerrieri and completed debt-free, was dedicated on May 31, 1960. St. Faustina recorded her spiritual experiences in a diary that became one of the most widely read works of twentieth-century Catholic spirituality. She was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the same day the Second Sunday of Easter was established for the universal Church as Divine Mercy Sunday. In 1996 the bishops of the United States designated the Stockbridge church a national shrine. Today pilgrims come throughout the year to venerate the Divine Mercy image, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at the three o'clock hour, and take part in the shrine's Divine Mercy Sunday celebration, which draws thousands to Eden Hill each spring.

Church Recognition

Designated a national shrine by the United States bishops in 1996; the Divine Mercy devotion it promotes was embraced by the universal Church with the canonization of St. Faustina and the institution of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2000.

Catholic Teaching

Proclaims the mercy of God revealed in Jesus Christ, a truth at the heart of the Gospel (CCC 1846-1848), and invites the faithful to trust in Christ, receive his mercy in confession, and show mercy to others.

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Practical

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Host to a large annual Divine Mercy Sunday celebration.

Go Deeper

Visit the shrine's official website at https://www.shrineofdivinemercy.org, read the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska (Divine Mercy in My Soul), and see Pope St. John Paul II's encyclical Dives in Misericordia on the mercy of God.