(LifeSiteNews) — The president of the Philippine Catholic bishops announced last week that they will consecrate the country to Our Lord’s Divine Mercy later this month in response to several grave challenges facing the country.

In an April 11 announcement, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), announced that the nationwide consecration to Our Lord’s Divine Mercy will take place during all Masses on April 27, Divine Mercy Sunday, per CBCP News. The consecration is meant to serve as a “collective response of faith and hope” to numerous challenges plaguing the Philippines and the entire world, including the erosion of truth, increasing opposition to the Church’s teaching on life and family, global conflict, and widespread corruption.

READ: Philippines bishops, laity push back against bill that could legalize divorce

David encouraged all dioceses, parishes, religious communities, and Catholic institutions to participate in the consecration. The initiative is also part of the Church’s Jubilee Year observance.

“This nationwide consecration will be a profound expression of our trust in the Divine Mercy—a trust that remains our final refuge in these times of uncertainty and trial,” the cardinal said. 

“Together, let us entrust ourselves, our Church, and our nation to the boundless mercy of God, confident that in His mercy we will find the healing, renewal, and hope we so deeply need,” he added.

Amazing!

Thousands of Catholics participate in the annual procession at Divine Mercy Hills in El Salvador city in the Philippines to mark Divine Mercy Sunday

Video: Project LUPAD pic.twitter.com/eMdKU125Zo

— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) April 7, 2024

The Divine Mercy devotion stems from Sister Faustina Kowalska’s diary, where she recorded revelations from Jesus, the Blessed Mother, and numerous saints that mainly concerned humanity’s need for the Lord’s mercy. Pope St. John Paul II established the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday when he canonized Sr. Faustina in 2000.

READ: Did Jesus give St. Faustina the Divine Mercy Chaplet as a prayer against abortion?

The Filipino bishops have previously made similar consecrations of their country. In 2020 during the height of COVID, the bishops consecrated the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Bongbong Marcos, the president of the Philippines, also consecrated the country to Mary’s Immaculate Heart in 2024.

President Marcos consecrating the Philippines to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary to protect us in these times of tension and strife “when evil winds flow, bringing cries of death [against Christ] and the civilization founded on His teaching. deceiving minds,… pic.twitter.com/BGwK70sDWK

— Ivan 🇵🇭🇻🇦 (@IvanAtHome) April 29, 2024