On October 5th we celebrate the 87th anniversary of the birth into heaven of the Apostle of Divine Mercy – the day of her liturgical memorial, and in all convents of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy – a liturgical solemnity. She belongs to the circle of the great mystics of the Church, a prophet sent by Jesus to the whole world with the message of Mercy. Millions of people around the globe draw from her school of spirituality recorded in the Diary. Saint John Paul II simply said of her that “she is a gift of God for our times, a gift from the land of Poland for the whole Church.”

Her impact on the life of the Church is expressed, among other things, in the widespread practice of devotion to Divine Mercy in the forms she transmitted. Today, there is hardly a country without an image of the Merciful Jesus; the Feast of Mercy was inscribed into the universal calendar of the Church in the year 2000, to be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter; the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is prayed even in tribal languages, though dictated in Polish, as was the entire message of Mercy; ever greater popularity is gained by the practice of prayer at the hour of Jesus’ death on the Cross – the Hour of Mercy – as well as by spreading veneration of Mercy. The Apostolic Movement of Divine Mercy, the “congregation” that Jesus himself requested, is among the largest movements in the contemporary Church.

The influence of her life and mission of proclaiming the message of Mercy to the world is also visible in the dedications of churches. Saint Faustina is patroness of Łódź and other places, of schools, works of mercy, various associations and communities. Her name is given to girls at baptism and chosen by the young at confirmation. She was Patroness of the World Youth Days in Sydney and Krakow. She inspires scholars, theologians, people of culture, art and media, and is among the best-known and most beloved saints of the Catholic Church. Her relics are venerated in almost 130 countries worldwide, including an Orthodox church in Bucharest and the Anglican Shrine of Divine Mercy in Great Britain. Across the globe, theological symposia, diocesan, national, continental and world congresses are held, drawing their dynamism precisely from the life and mission of Saint Faustina. The radiance of this “gift of God” embraces the whole Church and the world, but it is meant to reach every person and prepare the world for the second coming of Christ.