Manila, March 27 -- The Catholic Church has consecrated the country anew to the Divine Mercy devotion amid the national energy emergency.

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Archbishop Gilbert Garcera said the faithful must turn to faith as a source of hope.

"In the face of our current national and global crises, this renewal of consecration would be a beautiful and fitting response of hope in the Lord's Mercy," he said in a letter to dioceses, as reported by CBCP News on Friday.

As part of the observance, the consecration prayer will replace the general intercessions in all Masses nationwide on Divine Mercy Sunday (April 12).

Garcera described the act as a "profound expression of trust" in Divine Mercy, a...