At the end of Holy Mass of the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, the Holy Father Francis led the recitation of the Regina Caeli.

The following are the Pope’s words of introduction to the Marian prayer:

Before the Regina Caeli

Before concluding this celebration, I would like to thank those who collaborated in preparing it and broadcasting it live. And I greet all those who are connected via the media.

I address a special greeting to you, present here in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, the Shrine of Divine Mercy: regular faithful, nursing staff, inmates, people with disabilities, refugees and migrants, Hospitaller Sisters of Mercy, and Civil Protection volunteers.

You represent some of the situations in which mercy is made tangible; it becomes closeness, service, care for those in difficulty. I hope you will always feel you have been granted mercy, so as to be merciful to others in turn.

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, obtain this grace for us all.