Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (pronounced Mar-ee-uh Faus-tee-nuh Koe-wall-skah) is the Apostle of the Divine Mercy and is one of the most widely known of all the saints and mystics in the history of the Church.
The Childhood of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska
She was born in the Polish village of Głogowiec on August 25, 1905. She was the third child born into a poor peasant family. Her parents, Stanisław Kowalski and his wife Marianna named her Helena, and just two days later they had her baptized in the local Catholic church. They would eventually have 10 children in all and they raised them faithfully in the church.
From early childhood Helena showed herself to be very pious. When she was only seven years old, she already knew she had a calling to enter a convent and become a nun. That was the year she first heard God’s voice in her soul. She loved to pray and was very obedient to her parents. When she turned nine, Helena made her First Communion.
Working as a Domestic as a Teen
Because her family was poor, Helena only had three years of formal education. She didn’t begin school until she was 12 years old. Then a few years later Helena got her first paying job to help earn money for her family. This job meant leaving home to go into service as a domestic worker in a wealthy household near Lodz. As a domestic worker Helena was paid low wages but had free room and board. At age sixteen she made her Confirmation. Helena was working and living in the world, but she still really felt the call to religious life.
Saint Faustina Kowalska’s Calling to Religious Life
When she turned eighteen, Helena went home and told her parents she wanted to enter a convent, but they did not give her their permission, so she returned to domestic work. She started attending parties and dances, thinking she might never be a nun.
Then one night while she was having a good time at a dance at age nineteen, Jesus appeared to her and said, “How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting Me off?”
Helena did not want to disobey Jesus, so as soon as possible, she went to Warsaw to find a convent that would take her. She was told by the mother superior that she must first go to work and earn money to pay for her wardrobe. It was a test. And so, for another year Helena worked as a housekeeper until she saved enough money for her habit.
Entering the Convent
On August 1, 1925, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw as a novitiate. Then on April 30, 1926 she received her habit and a new name, Sister Maria Faustina.
Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska had a very deep love for Jesus. She spent a lot of time contemplating how much Jesus suffered for her sake. She had deep gratitude for His mercy. She was called to remind the world about God’s special message of God’s merciful love for mankind and to encourage us to dedicate our lives to love both God and our neighbors with this same kind of merciful love.
Mystical Experiences in Prayer
St. Faustina had many mystical experiences with Jesus where He showed her God’s amazing merciful love. St. Faustina had many locutions. In them Jesus gave her instructions on new ways to worship God.
In one particular locution, St. Faustina was instructed by Jesus to have a special painting commissioned. Jesus described to St. Faustina what the image should look like. This image shows Jesus lovingly looking at us, with rays of blood and water coming from beneath His hand that is covering His Sacred Heart. Jesus told St. Faustina to add the words, “Jesus, I trust in You” to the bottom of the image as a reminder that we must always trust in Him. This famous image is called the Divine Mercy image. It is a very popular image that is found on prayer cards and in the homes of many faithful Catholics devoted to the Divine Mercy.
Feast Day for Divine Mercy
Jesus also told St. Faustina He wanted a special feast day for Divine Mercy. Now every year on Divine Mercy Sunday, which is a week after Easter, the image of Divine Mercy is displayed in churches for veneration. Special graces are given to the faithful who are committed to this devotion and honor the requests of Jesus on this day. Jesus also asked St. Faustina to create a special Chaplet and Novena of Divine Mercy. The chaplet is frequently recited daily by Catholics worldwide at the Hour of Mercy, which is at 3 pm locally. The Novena begins every year on Good Friday and ends on Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus attached great promises for each of these devotions to whomever is committed to loving their neighbors with merciful love and keeping a commitment to these devotions.
Jesus told Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, “As often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke it’s omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul” (Diary of St. Faustina, 1572).
End of St. Faustina Kowalska’s Life
St. Faustina lived just 33 years. She was born before World War I began and died just before World War II began. She was a religious sister for just 13 years, but in that very short time, through obedience to the will of God, she was able to give the world many new prayers and forms of worship to help us grow a devotion to Divine Mercy of God. During her short life she offered all her sufferings to God for the salvation of sinners. St. Faustina experienced both spiritual and physical sufferings. She accepted them gratefully and instead of complaining St. Faustina grew a very deep love and appreciation for the sufferings of our Lord and united her sufferings with His. Toward the end of her life St. Faustina’s physical ailments became more intense and severe. She suffering from tuberculosis and this attacked her lungs and gave her many gastrointestinal problems. She was sent for long term hospital treatment on two occasions by doctors. They tried to make her well enough to return to the convent. But on October 5, 1938 St. Faustina passed away peacefully.
In 1968 her beatification process began, and on Divine Mercy Sunday in 1993 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. Then on Divine Mercy Sunday April 30, 2000 she was canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II.
St. Faustina, pray for us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!