Our History
The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy ul.Siostry Faustyny 3 30-420 Krakow Poland
The Church must consider it one of her principle dutiesat every stage of history and especially in our modern age-to proclaim and to introduce into life the mystery of mercy, supremely revealed in Jesus Christ. Not only for the Church herself as the community of believers but also in a certain sense for all humanity, this mystery is the source of a life different from the life which can be built by man, who is exposed to the oppressive forces of the threefold concupiscence active within him…
The Church proclaims the truth of God’s mercy revealed
in the crucified and Risen Christ, and she professes it in
various ways. Furthermore, she seeks to practice mercy
towards people through people, and she sees in this an
indispensable condition for solicitude for a better and
“more human” world, today and tomorrow. However, at
no time and in no historical period-especially at a
moment as critical as our own-can the Church forget the
prayer that is a cry for the mercy of God amid the many
forms of evil which weigh upon humanity and threaten
it. Precisely this is the fundamental right and duty of the
Church in Christ Jesus, her right and duty towards God
and towards humanity.
John Paul II
(Dives in Misericordia 14.15)
SAINT FAUSTINA
The task of ‘proclaiming and introducing into life’
the mystery of God’s mercy, and imploring that
mercy for the world, which the Holy Father, Pope
John Paul II places before the entire Church, was
entrusted to Saint Faustina as her life’s witness and
mission.
Sister Faustina was born in 1905 in the village of
Glogowiec near Lodz as the third of ten children in
the family of Marianna and Stanislaw Kowalski.
From her childhood she was distinguished by a
love for prayer, diligence at work, obedience and a
sensitivity for the poor. She attended not quite
three years of elementary schooling, and later, as a
teenager, left her family home to work as a
domestic servant.
At the age of twenty she entered the Congregation
of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in which, as
Sister Maria Faustina, she spent thirteen years of
her life performing the duties of cook, gardener,
and doorkeeper. Her life, though seemingly very
ordinary, monotonous and drab, concealed in itself
an exceptionally profound union with God. From
her childhood she desired to become a great saint,
and she consistently strove toward that goal,
working together with Jesus for the salvation of
lost souls, even to the extent of offering her life as
a sacrifice for sinners. Therefore, her life as a
religious was marked with the stigma of suffering,
but also with extraordinary mystical graces.
It was to this religious, who though simple, had
boundless trust in God, that Jesus directed that
amazing declaration, In the Old Covenant I sent
prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people.
Today I am sending you with My mercy to the
people of the whole world. I do not want to punish
aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it
to My Merciful Heart (1558*).
The mission of the Saint Faustina consists of 3
tasks:
- reminding the world of the truth of our faith,
revealed in Holy Scripture about the merciful love
of God towards every human being.
- entreating God’s mercy for the whole world,
among others through the practice of new forms of
devotion to Divine Mercy, such as the veneration
of the image of Divine Mercy with the inscription:
‘Jesus, I trust in You’, the feast of Divine Mercy
celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, chaplet
to Divine Mercy, prayer at the Hour of Mercy
(3p.m.) and spreading the devotion to Divine
Mercy.
- initiating the apostolic movement of Divine
Mercy which undertakes the task of proclaiming
and entreating God’s mercy for the world and
strives for perfection in the spirit of childlike
confidence in God, expressed in the fulfillment of
His will and the attitude of mercy towards one’s
neighbor.
Worn out and weakened by tuberculosis and the
sufferings she bore in sacrifice for sinners, Sister
Faustina died in the odor of sanctity in Krakow on
October 5, 1938 at the age of 33.
On the first Sunday after Easter, April 18, 1993, in
St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope John Paul II
declared her one of the community of the Saint.
On the following day during his general audience
he said, “God has spoken to us through the spiritual
wealth of Saint Sister Faustina Kowalska. She left
to the world the great message of Divine Mercy
and an incentive to complete self-surrender to the
Creator. God endowed her with a singular grace
that enabled her to experience His mercy through
mystical encounter and by a special gift of
contemplative prayer.
Saint Sister Faustina, thank you for reminding the
world of that great mystery of Divine Mercy; that
‘startling mystery’, that inexpressible mystery of
the Father, which today every individual and the
whole world need so very much.”
The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina on the first Sunday after Easter, on April 30, 2000 in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
Aim and Mission of Apostolate of Divine Mercy
The Apostolate of Divine Mercy is an association approved by and registered in the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, and under the H.K. Central Council of Catholic Laity. Its object is to promote the messages and devotion of Divine Mercy which include:
- Spreading the message of the unfathomable mercy and love of Jesus, and participate in His mission of salvation.
- Promoting complete trust in the infinite mercy of God, and ask for His mercy on the world.
- Practising acts of mercy. Help those who suffer, those who are dejected, lost, forsaken and weak, and bring them the mercy and hope of Jesus.
The main work and activities of the Apostolate of Divine Mercy include the yearly celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, publishing booklets, leaflets and images of Divine Mercy.