On the world stage and in the life of the Catholic Church, John Paul II became known as the Great Mercy Pope — devoting his second encyclical to God’s mercy, forgiving his would-be assassin, making Sr. Faustina, the great apostle of Divine Mercy, a saint and establishing Divine Mercy Sunday as a universal feast day in the Church.

Now, more than three years into his own papacy, his successor, Benedict XVI, has become known as a Pope of Mercy in his own right. He opened the first ever World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in Rome last April and at its conclusion called the participants to “go forth and be witnesses of God’s mercy.” Further, during a pastoral visit to Poland in 2006, this Pope of Mercy called the sick to be “eloquent witnesses God’s mercy” and said he was passing on the “Flame of Mercy” to the youth he met.

Discover in Pope Benedict’s Divine Mercy Mandate, how the Holy Father spoke of receiving a gift of Divine Mercy when he was elected Pope in 2005 and how he then stressed Divine Mercy as “an integral dimension of a Christian’s faith and prayer” when he led the Church in 2006 as the new Pontiff in celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday. Learn of his insights on Gods’ mercy in his bestselling book Jesus of Nazareth and of his stunning reflection on how even the betrayal of Christ by Judas reveals God’s mercy.