VATICAN - The Holy Father at the Regina Caeli: “All that the Church says and does shows the mercy that God feels for man. From divine mercy, which puts hearts at peace, also arises the authentic peace of the world, peace among peoples, cultures and religions.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Mercy is truly the central nucleus of the Gospel message. It is the equivalent of God’s very name, the way He has manifested Himself in the Old Testament, and fully in Jesus Christ, who is the incarnation of the Love that creates and redeems.” These were the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI on March 30, the Second Sunday of Easter, prior to the recitation of the Regina Caeli in the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope has been spending some days of rest.
Benedict XVI recalled that in the year 2000, Pope John Paul II had established the universal Church feast of Divine Mercy Sunday on the Second Sunday of Easter, in conjunction with the canonization of Faustina Kowalska, a humble Polish nun who was a zealous apostle of the Merciful Lord. “All that the Church says and does,” the Pope said, “shows the mercy that God feels for man. From divine mercy, which puts hearts at peace, also arises the authentic peace of the world, peace among peoples, cultures and religions.”
John Paul II was also an “apostle of the Divine Mercy...over the course of his long and multifaceted pontificate” the Pope stated. “all of his mission at the service of the truth about God, about man and peace in the world is summarized in this proclamation of his in Cracovia-Łagiewniki in 2002, at the inauguration of the Divine Mercy Shrine: ‘Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind.’ His message, like that of St. Faustina, presents the face of Christ, supreme revelation of the mercy of God. To contemplate constantly this face: This is the inheritance that he has left us, which we welcome with joy and make our own.”
In conclusion, the Holy Father mentioned the first World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy that will be held in Rome this week, beginning with an opening Mass celebrated by the Pope in the morning of Wednesday, April 2, the third anniversary of the death of Servant of God John Paul II. “Let us place this Congress under the heavenly protection of Mary, Mater Misericordiae [Mother of Mercy],” the Pope concluded, “to her we entrust the great cause of peace in the world so that the mercy of God achieves what is impossible with human strength alone, and instills the courage for dialogue and reconciliation.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 31/3/2008; righe 30, parole 401)