St. Faustina

St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament

Venerated as the “Apostle of Divine Mercy” St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament was born Helena Kowalska in Glogowiec, Poland in 1905. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1928, taking the name Faustina. She served as the community’s cook, gardener, and housekeeper.  

Beginning in 1924 and throughout her life, Faustina reported having visions of Jesus and conversations with him, which she noted in her diary which was later published. In 1931, Jesus presented himself to Faustina as the “King of Divine Mercy” wearing a white garment with red and pale rays emanating from his heart. Our Lord asked her to become the apostle and secretary of divine mercy, a model of how to be merciful to be merciful to others, and an instrument  of emphasizing God’s plan of mercy for the world. ​He also gave her the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which we still say today, invoking the inexhaustible mercy of God.

She died on October 5 in 1938.  She was canonized in 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II.