Rev. Prof. Dr. Yesu Karunanidhi, a priest of the Archdiocese of Madurai, was appointed Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis on 10 February 2016 during the Jubilee Year of Mercy. He serves by welcoming all with compassion, guiding penitents with clarity, and accompanying them with patience. Inspired by Misericordia et Misera (10), he seeks to reveal God’s tender forgiveness.
“Evangelization takes place especially by the proclamation of divine mercy, in a variety of forms and expressions. In a particular way, the specific activity of the Missionaries of Mercy contributes to this end” (Pope Francis, Praedicate Evangelium. On the Roman Curia and Its Service to the Church in the World, Art. 59, § 2).
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi’s service as a Missionary of Mercy unfolds in six dimensions: sacramental ministry, para-liturgical and pastoral creativity, community-building through reconciliation and works of mercy, intellectual growth and translation work, digital evangelization through media, and a mission of accompaniment that brings hope and healing to the wounded and fearful.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi’s best practices as a Missionary of Mercy include modeling God’s compassion in the confessional, fostering theological reflection for evangelization, initiating works of mercy and family visits, forming mercy cells and networks among bishops and priests, creating resources on mercy, promoting interfaith collaboration, and supporting wider missionary efforts.
Missionaries of Mercy have the authority, granted by the Holy Father, to pardon these sins reserved to the Holy See: (i) Profaning the Eucharistic species by taking them away or keeping them for a sacrilegious purpose; (ii) Use of physical force against the Roman Pontiff; (iii) Absolution of an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue; (iv) A direct violation against the sacramental seal by a confessor; and (v) The recording by means of a technical device of what the priest or the penitent says in a Sacramental Confession (whether real or simulated), or the divulgation of such a recording through social communication.
Yesu Karunanidhi 