The Roman Catholic Church will observe tomorrow, October 5, the life and works of St. Faustina, the revered Apostle of the Divine Mercy.
Holy masses in her honor will be offered at 6 a.m., 12 noon, and 6 p.m. at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Mandaluyong City. Feast masses will also be celebrated at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Marilao, Bulacan where the world’s tallest Divine Mercy statue at 100 feet is located.
Rites will also be observed in all Divine Mercy Shrines all over the world, particularly at her major shrine, the Basilica of Divine Mercy,
in Krakow, Poland.
Born on August 25, 1905, St. Faustina, a nun at the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland, had visions of Jesus Christ in 1931. She noted in her diary, The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul, her conversations with Christ.
According to accounts, the Lord appeared to her with a message of mercy for mankind and asked her to help spread devotional prayers like the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Three O’clock Habit.
Today, the Three O’clock Habit has become a daily devotional prayer for many Catholics for the conversion of sinners, forgiveness of sins, and the salvation of mankind.
Also known as St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament, she had the Divine Mercy image painted with the inscription, “Jesus, I trust in You.”
She died on October 5, 1938 and was canonized on April 30, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.