Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938)

Biography

At the age of 16 she left the family home to work as a domestic worker. At the age of 20 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Mother of God of Mercy where she lived fulfilling the duties of cook, gardener and porter until her death on October 5, 1938. Regarding the way she fulfilled her duties, these words of Jesus to Saint Faustina are sufficient for her attention to the poor who came to the door of the convent: "My daughter, the blessings of the poor who, moving away from the convent, have reached my ears. door They bless Me and this mercy of yours has pleased Me within the limits of obedience and that is why I have come down from the throne to taste the fruit of your mercy" (Diary,1312). The thing is that Jesus had also gone to the door of the convent in the guise of a poor young man, on a rainy and cold day. Santa Fustina, without recognizing him, gave him some hot soup and bread. He wrote a very beautiful and impressive mystical book titled "Diary, Divine Mercy in my soul." The Diary collects words from Jesus about Divine Mercy, which the Saint herself heard from the Lord during her years of religious life. The original manuscript occupies six notebooks and was written by Saint Faustina Kowalska at the command of Jesus and also at the command of her confessors. In the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Lagiewniki, on the side altar next to the image of the Merciful Jesus, are the relics of Saint Faustina Kowalska, who died on October 5, 1938 in the Convent of the Congregation next to the Shrine. Saint Faustina Kowalska was beatified on April 18, 1993 and canonized by John Paul II on April 30, 2000.