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 Before answering God’s call of spreading the Message and Devotion to
the Divine Mercy, as revealed to St. Faustina, Bro. Don
de Castro was a professional disc jockey (DJ), radio
announcer and a TV Newscaster on PTV 4 (currently NBN 4).
In 1985, amidst the civil
and political turmoil in the Philippines, Bro. Don
got to know the Message and Devotion to the Divine Mercy and
had an inspiration from God to have a nationwide prayer for
peace. Here began the roots of the now institutionalized
Divine Mercy “Say a Little Prayer” Movement
(DM-SLPM), which launched the historic
3 O’Clock Habit
nationwide.
Bro. Don’s
commitment to the propagation of the Divine Mercy led him to
decide to turn his back on his passion – his profession –
and focus full-time on God by spreading the Message and
Devotion to the Divine Mercy. He then started to give talks
about Divine Mercy nationwide, being invited to various
schools, offices, parishes and homes. From here, his program
“The Hour of Great Mercy” was launched on PTV 4 in
1986.
Moreover, to create a
stable base in the Philippines, in 1986 Bro. Don
inaugurated the first-ever Chapel in honor of Divine
Mercy in the Philippines located at 19 Spencer St.,
Cubao, Quezon City.
In 1987, since the Divine
Mercy Devotion is all about bringing souls back to the
sacraments, especially to the Eucharist, Bro. Don
then began to televise live on PTV 4 the Holy Eucharist.
Also in the same year,
Bro. Don brought to the Philippines from the U.S.A. and
premiered the first-ever movie on Divine Mercy entitled,
“Divine Mercy – No Escape.”
Given the stable base,
Bro. Don then began circling the globe giving talks and
film-showings on Divine Mercy, the first Filipino in the
world to do so.
Since Divine Mercy is
also about works of mercy, in 1989, Bro. Don also
founded the Divine Mercy Charity Lying-in Clinic and
Home for Unwed Mothers, rendering free medical and
dental services, minor surgeries and child-birth services.
This was also Bro. Don’s way of fighting abortion,
which was and still is so rampant in the world, by housing,
helping, taking care and encouraging unwed mothers to push
through with their pregnancy. Furthermore, Bro. Don
even extended such services and more to slum areas around
the country, such as Smokey
Mountain and Payatas, by having medical missions and feeding programs and
brought to the residents of these areas donations of food,
clothing, free medicines and the like.
In June of 1989, Bro.
Don organized the first ever Media Convention
that focused on Divine Mercy with the goal of spreading even
further the Message and Devotion to the Divine Mercy. The
aim of this convention was to involve mass media even more
in spreading the message of God’s mercy, to be trumpet
blowers of God’s mercy, “blowing” God’s mercy into the
hearts and souls of our fellowmen.
Bro. Don
once again began to focus on the spiritual aspect of Divine
Mercy in 1990 by giving a helping hand in building the
Archdiocesan Shrine of
Manila in honor of the
Divine Mercy
in the Philippines located at Mandaluyong
City, Metro Manila.
The building of the
Archdiocesan Shrine was also supported by the first-ever
Filipino movie on Divine Mercy in 1993, a co-production of
the Divine Mercy “Say a Little Prayer” Movement
(DM-SLPM) and Oasis of Love, entitled
“Divine Mercy Sa Buhay Ni Sister Faustina” starring
Donita Rose and Christopher de Leon and an all-star cast – a
movie that Bro. Don envisioned way back in 1989.
With the events that have
come to pass, in late 1993, devotees and propagators of the
Divine Mercy once again sought the help of Bro. Don
in building a Church in honor of the Divine Mercy, which is
now the National Shrine in honor of Divine Mercy
located at Marilao, Bulacan, in which he was more than happy
to also give a helping hand.
In 1996, Bro. Don
was invited to attend and was among the first-ever graduates
of the Pope John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy
held at Stockbridge,
Massachusetts, U.S.A.
At the outbreak and
turmoil of “9/11,” with the need to once again stress
even further the Message and Devotion to the Divine Mercy,
another inspiration from God dawned on Bro. Don to
launch a television channel dedicated to Divine Mercy.
Hence, on February 22, 2002, the Divine Mercy TV
Channel (DMC) was born.
Currently, Bro. Don
continues to head the Divine Mercy “Say a Little
Prayer” Movement (DM-SLPM) / 3 O’Clock Habit,
which also continues to utilize the power of mass media by
operating the Divine Mercy TV Channel (DMC)
that also continues to air his program, “The Hour of
Great Mercy,” and the daily “Divine Mercy Live TV
Mass.” He holds office at 19 Spencer St., Cubao, Quezon
City, Philippines and has conducted roughly 400 Symposiums
on Divine Mercy around the globe to date.
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