Missionaries of Mercy gather in Rome as Pope Francis praises their ‘ministry of forgiveness’

Pope Francis looks out at the crowd gathered below his hospital window at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media / Screenshot

CNA Newsroom, Mar 29, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

As hundreds of Missionaries of Mercy gathered in Rome this weekend, Pope Francis commended their distinctive ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation that continues to flourish worldwide.

Approximately 500 priests are participating in a special jubilee dedicated to their role as part of the broader 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

In a message addressed to these priests, and written while still in hospital, Pope Francis expressed his “gratitude and encouragement” for their work as special confessors who possess faculties to absolve certain sins typically reserved to the Holy See.

“Through your service,” the pontiff wrote, “you bear witness to the paternal face of God, infinitely great in love, who calls everyone to conversion and constantly renews us with His forgiveness.”

The missonaries’ March 28-30 gathering included training sessions, communal prayer, and a pilgrimage through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Francis reflected on the profound connection between mercy and hope in his message. “Conversion and forgiveness are the two caresses with which the Lord wipes every tear from our eyes,” he stated. “They are the hands with which the Church embraces us sinners; they are the feet on which we walk in our earthly pilgrimage.”

The Holy Father encouraged these priests to maintain a compassionate approach in their ministry, urging them to be “attentive in listening, ready in welcoming, and steadfast in accompanying those who desire to renew their lives and return to the Lord.”

First commissioned during the 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, these priests have seen their mandate extended twice by Pope Francis. Their numbers have grown substantially, now surpassing 1,250 worldwide, with approximately 100 serving in the United States.

In Spes Non Confundit, the papal bull of indiction for the 2025 jubilee year, Pope Francis wrote that Missionaries of Mercy should “exercise their ministry by reviving hope and offering forgiveness whenever a sinner comes to them with an open heart and a penitent spirit.”

The pontiff concluded his message to the missionaries with a blessing and his customary request: “Please, do not forget to pray for me.”