Saint Faustina Kowalska (in civilian life Helena Kowalska) was born on August 25th, 1905, in the village of Głogowiec near Łódź, Poland, the third of ten children in a poor and deeply religious peasant family. From an early age, she was distinguished by a great love of prayer, a desire for God, and a sensitivity to human misery.

1. Youth and entry into the monastery
● First job: When she was barely sixteen, she left her home to earn a living and help her parents by serving in wealthy families in Łódź.
● Vocation: Although her parents prevented her from entering the religious order due to financial hardship, Helena had for many years carried in her heart the call to consecrate herself to God. After a mystical experience of the suffering of Christ, she fled to Warsaw.
● Congregation: On August 1th, 1925, she crossed the threshold of the Congregation of Our Lady of Divine Mercy in Warsaw on Żytnia Street and, while taking religious vows, took the name Sister Maria Faustina.

2. Religious life and mystical gifts
As a nun, she worked in various houses of the congregation (in Warsaw, Płock, Wilno and Krakow). She held undemanding jobs - she was a cook, a gardener and a porter. Outwardly, an ordinary nun, but deep down she lived an extraordinary spiritual life:
● Confidant of Divine Mercy: The Lord Jesus chose her as his secretary and apostle of mercy to remind the world of the truth about God's unlimited love, especially for sinners.
● Diary: At the behest of her confessors and Jesus himself, she began to write a Diary in which she recorded her spiritual experiences, conversations with Christ, and revelations. Today, it is one of the most important works of spiritual literature.

3. Main messages and tasks from Christ
Through Saint Faustina, Jesus left three great gifts and promises to the world:
● The Image of Divine Mercy: According to a vision in 1931 in Płock, she had an image painted with the inscription: "Jesus, I trust in You." Two rays come out of his heart - a pale one and a red one.
● Feast of Divine Mercy: Jesus asked that the first Sunday after Easter be celebrated as a special feast of mercy for the entire Church.
● Chaplet of Divine Mercy: A prayer received in Vilnius, which we pray on the ordinary rosary and which Jesus recommended as a powerful weapon to obtain mercy for the dying and the whole world.

4. Illness, death and legacy
● Suffering: The last years of her life were marked by tuberculosis of the lungs and digestive tract, which she endured with admirable patience and sacrificed for sinners.
● Death: She died in the reputation of sainthood on October 5, 1938 in Kraków-Łagiewniki at the age of only 33.
● Canonization: Pope John Paul II beatified her on April 18, 1993, and canonized her on April 30th, 2000. On the same day, he officially established the Feast of Divine Mercy for the entire Catholic Church.