This year, Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated on April 27, was a particularly special day on the isthmus of Madison.
Held at James Madison Park on Lake Mendota, a festival honoring Divine Mercy was organized by Knights of Columbus Council #6568 at Saint Paul’s Catholic Student Center, near the UW-Madison campus.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison celebrated an outdoor Mass at 12 noon, attended by approximately 300 students and families.
Concelebrating the Mass were Saint Paul’s Catholic Student Center Pastor Fr. Eric Sternberg and Parochial Vicar Fr. Enan Zelinski.
They also heard Confessions throughout the day.
After the Mass, an extended period of Adoration followed, where Adorers prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and listened to a reflection on Divine Mercy.
At 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy, the Eucharist was lifted high to hymns of praise, and a Eucharistic Procession traveled south on N. Hamilton St. from James Madison Park to the State Capitol, only blocks away.
There, the procession circled the building before a short period of Adoration on the Capitol’s north steps, which concluded with Benediction and a subsequent return to the park.
‘Love always wins’
In his homily, Bishop Hying preached that “on this Divine Mercy Sunday, there’s so much for us to think and pray about.”
Bishop Hying recalled that Divine Mercy Sunday falls within the Easter Octave, Pope Francis’s funeral had been celebrated the day before, a new pope has yet to be elected, and the Church is celebrating the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
Bishop Hying also recalled that remarkable lives of Polish Saints Faustina Kowalska, who received Jesus’ Divine Mercy revelation, and Pope John Paul II, who instituted Divine Mercy Sunday 25 years ago.
Speaking about those saints’ homeland, Bishop Hying said, “I can’t help but think that God was planting His flag of mercy in this place where Auschwitz would arise, where World War II would erupt, where millions of people would be murdered, where God and the dignity of the human person would be trampled upon.
“The Lord planted His flag of Divine Mercy precisely in this place of darkness to remind us that there is no sin, there is no evil, there is no death that has the final word,” the bishop continued.
“Jesus has conquered the power of sin and death forever, and that means love always wins, which is simply another way of saying: Christ always wins.
“Love always wins because Christ always wins,” Bishop Hying said.
“Today’s Mercy has triumphed over the power of evil forever.
“What a beautiful day for us,” Bishop Hying said.
Planning the festival
Preparations for the celebration were led by Knight of Columbus Andrew Hodgson.
Hodgson said that organizing a Eucharistic Procession in Madison had been on his mind since entering the Church in 2023.
He shared that while on pilgrimage that same year, while attending World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Father Sternberg had a strong desire “to do some sort of procession [in Madison].”
“That had sort of stuck in my mind,” Hodgson said.
“When we started planning this, it was right at the height of the Israel/Palestine protests,” and “Religious tensions were high at that point,” Hodgson continued.
“My thought was, if we can do the least objectionable teaching, by the secular world, from the Catholic Church — that being the infinite mercy of God — that would be ideal,” Hodgson said, and from there, he led the charge to obtain permits and began preparation for the Divine Mercy Sunday celebration.
While planning the procession, Hodgson remembered walking the route from James Madison Park to the Capitol, which is at a slight incline.
“The visual of our Lord and all of His faithful marching up to the civil authority to celebrate the mercy Our Lord was one that I couldn’t resist,” he said.
Hodgson and his fellow Knights are grateful for the generous donors who helped fund the event, which included many individual donors and other Knights of Columbus councils in the Diocese of Madison.
They’re especially thankful for El Pastor Mexican Restaurant, a Catholic-owned business in Madison, which sold food following the procession.