St. Faustina was a Polish nun who received
visions from Jesus, including one of Jesus
wearing a white garment with beams of red and
white coming from His heart, which came to be
known as the image of Divine Mercy.
Jesus promised that, whoever would venerate
this image would be preserved from eternal
damnation. In it, two rays extended from the
Heart of Jesus one white and one red. The
colors symbolized the blood and water that
gushed from Jesus' side at the Crucifixion. He
also requested the words, "JESUS I TRUST IN
YOU" be written on the painting.
Sister Faustina came from a poor family that
struggled during the years of World War I.
She was a young, uneducated nun in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of
Mercy in Poland during the 1930s. She had only three years of simple education, so hers
were the humblest tasks in the convent, usually in the kitchen or garden. However, she
received extraordinary revelations or messages from our Lord Jesus. Jesus asked Sr.
Faustina to record these experiences, which she compiled into notebooks. These notebooks
are known today as the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, and the words contained
within are God's loving message of Divine Mercy.
Though the Divine Mercy message is not new to the teachings of the Church, Sr. Faustina's
Diary sparked a great movement, and a strong and significant focus on the mercy of Christ.
Saint John Paul II canonized Sr. Faustina in 2000 making her the "first saint of the new
millennium." Speaking of Sr. Faustina and the importance of the message contained in her
Diary, the Pope called her "the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time."
Today, we continue to rely on St. Faustina as a constant reminder of the message to trust in
Jesus' endless mercy, and to live life mercifully toward others. We also turn to her in prayer
and request her intercession to our merciful Savior on our behalf.
At the Divine Mercy Retreat Centre Elavur, during the mercy hour at 3 o'clock, all prayerful
intentions and petitions received from the faithful are raised in the presence of God's mercy.
On the Second Sunday of Easter of the Jubilee Year 2000, at the Mass for the Canonization
of St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II declared the Sunday after Easter be called
"Divine Mercy Sunday."
St. Faustina wrote the below from in her diary
"I want the Image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be
venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it.."
"My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of
Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. I pour out a whole
