Feast day: 5 October
Saint Faustina Kowalska
A Polish religious sister of little schooling to whom Christ entrusted the message of Divine Mercy, the image 'Jesus, I trust in You', the chaplet and the feast of Mercy Sunday.
- Born
- 25 August 1905, Głogowiec (Poland)
- Died
- 5 October 1938, Kraków (Poland)
- Canonization
- Beatified 18 April 1993 and canonized 30 April 2000, both by Pope John Paul II.
- Religious order
- Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy
- Country
- Poland
Biography
A poor family in central Poland
Helena Kowalska was the third of ten children of a carpenter. She attended school for less than three years and worked as a domestic servant to support her family. After a vision of the suffering Christ at a dance in Łódź she entered the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw in 1925, taking the name Maria Faustina.
The revelations of Mercy
On 22 February 1931 at Płock she saw Christ clothed in white with red and pale rays streaming from his heart, and was told to have the image painted with the words 'Jesus, I trust in You'. Guided by her confessor, Blessed Michał Sopoćko, she recorded the revelations in a diary and received the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in 1935.
Hidden death and worldwide devotion
Working as cook, gardener and porter, she suffered tuberculosis and died at thirty-three. Her writings were placed under a Holy See prohibition in 1959 because of faulty translations; the ban was lifted in 1978 at the request of Cardinal Wojtyła, who as pope canonized her and instituted Divine Mercy Sunday for the universal Church.
Timeline
- 1905 — Born at Głogowiec
- 1925 — Enters the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy
- 1931 — Vision of the Divine Mercy image at Płock
- 1935 — Receives the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
- 1938 — Dies of tuberculosis in Kraków
- 2000 — Canonized; Divine Mercy Sunday established
Dates marked ~ are traditional or debated among historians.
Symbols
Rays of red and pale light — The blood and water from the pierced side of Christ.
Diary notebook — The written record of the revelations.
Virtues & spiritual lessons
Trust in God's mercy, obedience to spiritual direction, humility in hidden work and patience in illness.
Importance in the Church
Through her the Church received the devotion to Divine Mercy, the Hour of Mercy at three o'clock, the chaplet, and the feast celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter.
Quotes
“Jesus, I trust in You.”
Diary, n. 47 — inscription commanded for the image
“The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to my mercy.”
Diary, n. 723
Writings
Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul — Six notebooks written 1934-1938 recording the revelations and her spiritual life.
Prayers
Chaplet of Divine Mercy (closing prayer)
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen.
Closing prayer of the chaplet as given in the Diary, n. 950.
Places
Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, Kraków-Łagiewniki — Her tomb and the original image venerated by pilgrims.
Płock, Poland — Site of the 1931 vision.
Entries are drawn from the Roman Martyrology, the General Roman Calendar, canonization records of the Holy See, and the saints' own writings. Where a date, quotation or attribution is uncertain, it is marked as such. (63 saints)