WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) -- April 30 marks 25 years since St. John Paul II canonized St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun whose visions of Jesus as Divine Mercy changed the spiritual landscape of the modern church. Canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2000 -- just as St. Faustina had foreseen decades earlier -- she became the church's "secretary of Divine Mercy."
When a quiet Polish nun named Helena Kowalska entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925, no one could have predicted that she would become one of the Catholic Church's most beloved and influential saints of the 20th and 21st centuries.
"The development of the Divine Mercy devotion after Faustina's canonization is a religious phenomenon," said Ewa Czaczkowska, a Polish historian, journalist, academic and author of "Faustina: The Mystic and Her Message," published by Marian Press Publishing House.
"The cult grew rapidly, especially after her beatification and canonization. It is truly a global movement now," said Czaczkowska, who is one of the leading experts on the life and spirituality of St. Faustina. Her book, a comprehensive study of St. Faustina's life and mission, offers deep insight into her spirituality, visions, and significance in the history of the church.
A vision beyond time
St. Faustina had a deep desire for holiness. As a young nun, she asked St. Thérèse of Lisieux in prayer whether she, too, would become a saint. St. Thérèse confirmed it. Even though it went off the limits of the imagination of a simple Polish nun, St. Faustina recorded in her "Diary" a startling vision: her own canonization.
"Suddenly, God's presence took hold of me, and at once I saw myself in Rome, in the Holy Father's chapel and at the same time I was in our chapel. And the celebration of the Holy Father and the entire Church was closely connected with our chapel and, in a very special way, with our Congregation. ... The crowd was so enormous that the eye could not take it all in."
St. Faustina had never seen a satellite or a live television broadcast. And yet her description mirrors exactly what happened 60 years later, when her canonization was transmitted from Rome to Krakow Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki district via satellite.
"She described the moment she saw the pope -- John Paul II -- and St. Peter. She saw the joy of the people and the blessing of Jesus in the monstrance. She saw the crowds," Czaczkowska told OSV News. "She was surprised, even in her vision, that it could happen in two places at once."
Divine Mercy for the world
Czaczkowska explained that St. Faustina's mystical experiences began in 1931 in the Polish town of Plock, where she saw Jesus, dressed in white, with rays of red and pale light streaming from his heart. He asked her to have this image painted, with the inscription: "Jesus, I trust in You."
This simple message -- to trust in Lord's mercy -- came at a time of global upheaval. The world was barreling toward the devastation of World War II. Later, St. John Paul would call Divine Mercy the "the messianic message of Christ and the constitutive power of His mission."
"Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to my mercy," Jesus said to St. Faustina.
In 1981, shortly after surviving an assassination attempt, St. John Paul publicly declared that the task of his pontificate was to proclaim this message to the world. The canonization of St. Faustina allowed him to officially establish Divine Mercy Sunday.
"Only after her sanctity was confirmed could the church declare that what she wrote in her 'Diary' was true and in accordance with the Gospel," Czaczkowska noted.
Mercy stronger than evil
"Today, Faustina is needed more than ever," Czaczkowska said. "We live in a time of wars, moral confusions, and conflicts. Mercy is the answer. As Pope John Paul II wrote in 'Memory and Identity': 'Christ wanted to reveal that the limit imposed upon evil, of which man is both perpetrator and victim, is ultimately Divine Mercy.'"
"John Paul II kept a relic of St. Faustina in his private papal apartment until his death. The Polish mystic's message was not just close to his heart -- it became the spiritual axis of his mission as the pope of the new millennium," Czaczkowska said.
St. Faustina had little formal education. She came from a poor, rural Polish family and attended only three years of school. And yet her 'Diary,' filled with mystical encounters with Jesus Christ, continues to inspire millions. It has been translated into dozens of languages, including English, and reaches readers of all ages and backgrounds. In Faustina's biography -- also available in the U.S. -- Czaczkowska reflects on the depth of the nun's spiritual courage, humility, and prophetic insight.
A saint for a wounded world
Although Faustina never left Poland, her message has traveled the globe. In the U.S., devotion to Divine Mercy is especially vibrant.
The National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, draws thousands of pilgrims each year.
Sister Gaudia Skass, from the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, now based in Krakow, spent several years living and working in Washington.
She said while living in the U.S., "I met many Americans who love St. Faustina, Divine Mercy, and read her 'Diary.' Their devotion is very deep, not just outward but spiritual. In Poland, the devotion is mainly based on cult and prayers, but in the United States, it's more a lifestyle."
She said Americans "genuinely want to understand Faustina and the merciful Jesus spiritually, and live according to the message they receive. This is their unique approach, and it's beautiful. I encountered true witnesses of faith, and it was truly impressive."
Sister Gaudia emphasized that the message of Divine Mercy "meets the needs of the modern world," especially in times of chaos and uncertainty by saying, "Trust in Me, I will take care of you completely."
