Don de Castro that launched the now widely known “3 O’CLOCK PRAYER”, a moment of prayer every 3 o’clock in the afternoon. DON DE CASTRO
Founder & Servant Leader of the Divine Mercy - 3 O'Clock Habit
Bro. Don de Castro, a radio announcer and newscaster by profession, was introduced to the Divine Mercy on the Easter of 1985. Being immediately touched by the message and devotion to the Divine Merc
y and at the height of the political turmoil in the Philippines, he then launched a nationwide prayer for peace - “3 O’Clock Prayer” - a daily prayer at 3 o’clock in the afternoon that was composed by St. Then on June 16, 1985, the 1st ever nationwide airing of the now widely known “3 O’Clock Prayer” was made and the Divine Mercy - 3 O’Clock Habit was born. This momentous and historic event, eventually became a daily habit of Filipinos and even people all around the world and, is continually being aired by radio and television stations worldwide to this day. In 1986, Bro. Don then also established the 1st ever Divine Mercy Chapel in the Philippines. To further the propagation of the Divine Mercy, in 1987, Bro. Don, was able to request for airtime on Channel 4, a government-owned television station, where he was also a television newscaster then, to air the 1st ever TV Mass in honor of the Divine Mercy as well as “The Hour of Great Mercy©,” an exclusive program on the Divine Mercy. On the same year, Bro. Don organized as well the 1st ever media convention on the Divine Mercy, which was graced by the presence of the late +Jaime Cardinal Sin, then Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Manila, who addressed the delegates and concelebrated the Holy Mass together with Bishop Teodoro Bacani, D.D. James Reuter, S.J., among other priests, which was aired live on Channel 4. At the onset of 1988, Bro. Don then established the Divine Mercy Charity Lying-In Clinic, Divine Mercy Dental Clinic & Divine Mercy Home For U***d Mothers in Metro Manila, Philippines, which was also blessed & consecrated by the late +Jaime Cardinal Sin. In 1991, Bro. Don co-produced a Filipino movie on the life of St. Faustina Kowalska. A year after, the movie “Divine Mercy Sa Buhay Ni Sister Faustina”© was premiered nationwide with celebrity actress, Donita Rose, portraying St. Faustina and featuring renowned actor, Christopher de Leon, in a lead role. In 1992, the late +Jaime Cardinal Sin called upon Bro. Don to help establish the Archdiocesan Shrine in honor of the Divine Mercy in on a 1,500 sqm. property in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila that was previously donated by Don Paco Ortigas. On June 12, 1996, the 1st ever Archdiocesan Shrine in honor of the Divine Mercy was completed. To further strengthen the fundamentals in propagating the message and devotion to the Divine Mercy, in 1996 Bro. Don was invited to be the 1st Philippine delegate and was one of the first graduates of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy - an institute commissioned by the Holy See in Rome that is located in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. and under the leadership of the Marian Fathers, which was then headed by the late Fr. Serafim Michalenko, MIC, Rector of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy, U.S.A., & Fr. George Cosicki, CSB, a known author on books & teachings on Divine Mercy. Recognizing the crucial role played by Bro. Don in helping spread the Divine Mercy not only in the Philippines but also around the world, he was then charged by the Marian Fathers to advance and propagate the Divine Mercy even more through his talks, seminars and symposiums all over the globe. Don then established the first and only television channel in the world spreading the message and devotion to the Divine Mercy 24hrs. a day, 7 days a week, which is dubbed as the Divine Mercy TV Channel [DMC] ©. DMC initially aired across the Philippines and around Asia in the year 2000 via Dream Satellite TV then on local cable television via Destiny Cable. Recently, Bro. Don was then appointed as the Divine Mercy National Lay Coordinator of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in the Philippines. To this day, he still continues to spread the message & devotion to the Divine Mercy all over the world through his talks, symposiums & his program, The Hour of Great Mercy, which is aired worldwide via online media platforms.
