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Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska
Helena Kowalska was born on August 25, 1905, in Głogowiec, Poland. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy on August 1, 1925, and received the religious name Sister Mary Faustina.
During thirteen years in the congregation, she served in such ordinary roles as cook, gardener, and porter. Her spiritual mission centered on proclaiming God's merciful love, praying for the world — especially for sinners — and encouraging trust in God together with mercy toward other people.
At the direction of the Lord and her spiritual guides, she recorded her experiences and spiritual insights in the work now known as the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. It contains the principal texts associated with the Divine Mercy image, Chaplet, Feast, Hour of Mercy, and Novena.
Timeline
Helena Kowalska was born on August 25, 1905, in Głogowiec, Poland.
She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy on August 1, 1925, receiving the name Sister Mary Faustina.
Jesus appeared to Faustina and asked her to paint an image with the inscription "Jesus, I trust in You" (Diary §47).
At the direction of Jesus and her spiritual guides, she began recording her experiences in what became the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska.
Faustina died of tuberculosis in Kraków on October 5, 1938, at the age of thirty-three.
Pope John Paul II beatified her on April 18, 1993.
Pope John Paul II canonized her on April 30, 2000, during the Second Sunday of Easter, and established Divine Mercy Sunday for the universal Church.
The Diary
The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul is the spiritual record of Faustina's experiences, visions, and conversations with Jesus. It has been translated into numerous languages and is one of the most widely read spiritual works in the Catholic world. The Church recognizes Faustina as a principal apostle of Divine Mercy.