Divine Mercy Sanctuary (Tomb of St. Faustina)

The Story

The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Kraków-Łagiewniki, Poland, is the resting place of St. Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938), the religious sister whose reported visions of Jesus gave the Church the Divine Mercy devotion. The site grew from the convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, established at Łagiewniki in 1891, where Sister Faustina lived, worked and died. According to her own account, recorded in the diary she kept under obedience, Faustina received visions of the merciful Jesus beginning in 1931, with the request that an image be painted with the inscription 'Jesus, I trust in You,' that a feast of Divine Mercy be established on the Sunday after Easter, and that the message of God's mercy be proclaimed to the world. From these revelations came the Divine Mercy image, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the observance of the three o'clock Hour of Mercy. Faustina died of tuberculosis on October 5, 1938, at the age of thirty-three. Her remains were transferred to the convent chapel in 1966, and since her beatification in 1993 they have rested on the altar beneath the revered image of the Merciful Jesus painted by Adolf Hyła in 1944, one of the most reproduced sacred images in the world. Pope John Paul II canonized her on April 30, 2000 — the first canonization of the Great Jubilee — and on the same day established Divine Mercy Sunday for the universal Church. To receive the growing stream of pilgrims, a great basilica was built beside the convent between 1999 and 2002. John Paul II consecrated it on August 17, 2002, and there entrusted the whole world to Divine Mercy. He had earlier called Łagiewniki the capital of the Divine Mercy devotion. Today the sanctuary welcomes millions of pilgrims each year. They pray at the tomb of St. Faustina in the convent chapel, venerate the image, keep the Hour of Mercy, and gather in greatest numbers on Divine Mercy Sunday, carrying into the world the message summed up in the words: Jesus, I trust in You.

Church Recognition

St. Faustina was canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, and the Divine Mercy devotion is fully approved by the Church; John Paul II consecrated the sanctuary's basilica in 2002 and established Divine Mercy Sunday for the universal Church.

Catholic Teaching

The Divine Mercy devotion places God's mercy at the heart of the Gospel (CCC 1846); trust in Jesus and mercy toward neighbor are its enduring message.

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Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Lagiewniki is a major pilgrimage center.

Go Deeper

The sanctuary's official website is https://www.misericordia.eu; read the Diary of St. Faustina (Divine Mercy in My Soul), St. John Paul II's encyclical Dives in Misericordia, and CCC 1846–1848 on God's mercy.