On Sunday, April 12, 2026, Archbishop Christian Lépine presided over a solemn Mass at Saint-Nazaire Parish in LaSalle for Divine Mercy Sunday, drawing the faithful from many different backgrounds to celebrate together the boundless mercy of God. The Mass, coordinated by Father Dominic Fortier and the team at the Sanctuaire de la Miséricorde, was shaped throughout by a deep spirit of prayer, recollection, and hope.

Saint-Nazaire Parish is the Sanctuaire de la Miséricorde, the diocesan shrine dedicated to the devotion of Divine Mercy, designated as such by Archbishop Lépine in September 2019, and the Canadian home of the Œuvre de Jésus Miséricordieux. The parish has welcomed pilgrims drawn to the devotion since it took up residence there, making it a fitting setting for this annual celebration.

From the opening of his homily, the Archbishop named what brought every person in that church together: a shared attraction to the merciful Jesus. "What gathers us here today, if not being drawn to Him?" he asked, recalling that Christ remains one of the greatest draws in human history, through a love offered without measure.

Drawing on the journey of the disciples, Archbishop Lépine traced three fundamental realities of Christian life: following Jesus, sometimes turning away from Him, particularly before the cross, and then being called again, sent on mission despite our own fragility. He dwelt on the paradox at the heart of faith: even after fleeing or doubting, the disciples are sought out by the risen Christ, who offers them peace and sends them forth in turn. It is a telling sign of divine mercy, which never stops lifting people up or placing its trust in them.

The Archbishop also urged the faithful not to underestimate the depth of that mercy. Too often, he explained, we reduce it to our own limits or to our own understanding of forgiveness. But God's mercy goes far beyond that: it does not simply erase sin; it transforms the heart, renews the capacity to love, and opens a path toward new life.

In this light, Archbishop Lépine reminded those present that every person is called to holiness. Not as a perfection to be achieved through personal effort, but as a participation in the very love of God. It is an invitation to be shaped, day after day, by a mercy that works from within.

On this particular Sunday, the Church points to what the faithful had gathered to receive: mercy is not an abstract idea but a living reality, offered to each person. It is something received, and something given in return, in ordinary gestures, in presence to one another, in attentiveness to those most in need.

The celebration thus became a renewed opportunity to rediscover the transforming power of God's love, and to leave with a clear call: to trust in mercy, to surrender to it, and to become its witness in the world.

Joanne Dorcé
Content Manager and Assistant Director,
Communications Department
Archdiocese of Montreal