Devotees of Saint Faustina Kowalska will commemorate on Thursday , Oct. 5, the memory of the revered Apostle of the Divine Mercy.
At the Diocesan Shrine of Saint Faustina of the Divine Mercy in Paniqui, Tarlac, a high mass will be held at 8 a.m. The mass will be preceded by the recitation of the holy rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 7 a.m.
A solemn procession will be held at 5 p.m. The recitation of the holy rosary, the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, novenas and holy masses were held from Sept. 26 to Oct. 4.
Commemorative masses will also be offered at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Mandaluyong City and at the National Shrine and Parish of the Divine Mercy 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 in Krakow, Poland.
Born on Aug. 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 stories, 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.
The Three O’clock Habit has since 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 Oct. 5, 1938 and was canonized on April 30, 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Her major shrine, the Basilica of Divine Mercy, is in Krakow, Poland.