The Magisterium before the apparitions to Saint Faustina Kowalska

In 1959, the Holy Office issued a decree prohibiting the diffusion of images and writings of Sister Faustina Kowalska and the devotion to Divine Mercy. Thirty years later, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who as Archbishop of Kraków had been the main promoter of the revision of this decree, canonized Faustina Kowalska in Rome and instituted the Feast of Divine Mercy. The figure of Hélène Kowalska (1905-1938), with over twenty recorded Marian apparitions in her Diary, serves as an exemplary case of how the Magisterium evaluates, suspends, and ultimately accepts private revelations.Born in Głogowiec, between Lodz and Włocławek, in a poor family of ten children, with a father farmer and carpenter.She records in her Diary over twenty apparitions of the Virgin and over thirty visions of Christ, angels, and the dead. Since 1910, Hélène claims to have seen the Virgin in dreams. She held her hand and led her on a vision of heaven.In 1912, she heard God calling her by name. From 1919, a desire to enter a convent grew within her. Her parents objected. She went to work in Lodz. On August 1, 1923, during a dance, she experienced this:“When I started to dance, suddenly I saw Jesus near me. Naked, tortured, covered with wounds” (Diary 37).She then ran to the cathedral of Saint Stanislaw Kostka and heard, prostrated before the tabernacle: “Go to Warsaw, there you will enter a convent.”Hélène returned home, greeted her sister. She asked for the Virgin’s help. Suddenly, she felt “deep within her soul”: “Go to that village near the city, you will spend the night there in total safety.”

“The Holy Virgin Mary visited me, holding Jesus in Her arms. Joy filled my soul, and I said: ‘Mary, my Mother, you know the terrible sufferings I endure.’ And the Mother of God replied: ‘I know how much you suffer, but do not fear, I have and always will have compassion for you.’ She smiled tenderly and vanished.” (Diário 43.)

A short time later:

“On the seventh day of the novena, I saw the Most Holy Virgin dressed in a light garment, between heaven and earth. She prayed with her hands crossed over her chest, her eyes raised to heaven. Rays of fire came from her heart, some rising to heaven, others covering our earth.” (Diário 46.)

The Vision of Merciful Christ (February 22, 1931): The Command for the Image and the Feast of Mercy

It is on February 22, 1931, that she has her famous vision of Christ who commands her:

“Paint a picture of what you see, with the inscription: ‘Jesus, I trust in You!'” (Diário 51.)

In the same message, Christ reveals His desire for a Feast of Mercy. In May 1933, Sister Faustina made a pilgrimage to Czestochowa. There, the Mother of God spoke much to me, and further:

“I renewed my perpetual vows, felt like her daughter, and she was my Mother. She did not refuse anything I asked.” (Diário 134.)

Her mystical closeness to the Virgin deepened over time, as in spring 1934:

«One day, Our Lady visited me. She was sad and kept her eyes down. She made me understand that she had something to tell me, and yet, on the other hand, it seemed she didn’t want to tell me. When I realized this, I started imploring her to tell me and look at me. A moment later, Mary looked at me with a loving smile and said: ‘You are about to experience certain sufferings related to illness and doctors. You will have much suffering because of this image [of ‘Christ the Merciful’], but do not be afraid of anything.’” The next day, I fell ill.” (Diary 149).On August 15, 1934, the Virgin appears to her again while she was praying in her cell:«‘I saw Saint Mary, of indescribable beauty. She told me: ‘My daughter, I require prayers from you, prayers and even more prayers for the world and especially for your country. For nine days, celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass and receive the sacred communion as an expiation. During these nine days, you will be with God, as an offering, in every place, always, in every place and at every moment, day and night’” (Diary 152).At the end of this novena, Sister Faustina sees the Virgin covering her confessor with her cloak (Diary 153).

The Marian Apparitions of 1935-1936: Messages on Mercy and Mediation

On October 26, Christ and the Virgin appear together (Diary 66). During Holy Week in 1935, the icon of “Christ the Mercy” was painted in Vilnius (Lithuania) according to Sister Faustina’s indications, then exhibited at Ostra Brama.On August 5, 1935, she sees the Virgin:«Indescribably beautiful, coming from the altar towards her genuflexion. She embraced me and said: ‘I am your Mother, thanks to the unfathomable Mercy of God, the soul pleases Me so much the more it fulfills the divine will… Be brave, do not fear illusory obstacles, but fix your gaze on the passion of My Son. Thus you will triumph’” (Diary 194-195).On August 15, the following year:«I heard the rustling of a dress and saw Saint Mary in a beautiful light, dressed in white and a blue sash that told me: ‘You bring Me great joy when you adore the Holy Trinity for the graces and privileges She has granted Me’” (Diary 229).Further visions followed: November 15 and then at the end of December 1935. On March 25, 1936:”Suddenly I saw the Mother of God who told me: ‘I gave the Savior to the world. And you, you must speak to the world of His mercy and prepare the world for the second coming of He who will come not as a merciful Savior, but as a righteous judge […]. Fear nothing, be faithful to the end.'” (Diary 251).On the following August 15, during community Mass:“I then saw the Most Holy Virgin with the Child Jesus holding Her by the hand. The apparition was dressed in a white, translucent dress, with a blue mantle, Her head uncovered, Her hair loose, indescribably beautiful.” (Diary 263).On November 29, 1936, a new apparition with these words:“You are a pleasant house to the living God.” (Diary 291).The following month:“I saw her so beautiful that I was speechless to describe this beauty. She was all white, surrounded by a blue band, her mantle was also blue, a crown on Her head. An inconceivable light emanated from Her entire person. I am the Queen of Heaven and Earth, but above all, Her Mother. She squeezed me in Her heart and said: I have compassion for you.” (Diary 295).

The Ecclesiastical Reception: From the Holy Office’s Decree (1959) to Cardinal Wojtyla and the Canonization of 2000

Sister Faustina frequently suffered the Passion of Christ, yet her stigmata remained invisible (in September 1936, *Diary* 270. In February 1937, *Diary* 331, 334. On March 5, 1937, *Diary* 355. In July 1937, *Diary* 394).Following Sister Faustina’s experiences, numerous representations of Christ the Merciful spread. In 1937, the Archbishop of Vilnius permitted the faithful to venerate an image he placed in a chapel.On October 5, 1954, the Polish episcopate acknowledged only one representation, that of painter Ludomir Slezinski, faithful to the image created in 1935, with the stipulation that it not be put into circulation with Sister Faustina’s revelations until approved by the Holy See.In 1960, the Holy Office suspended the cause of beatification.Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, then the young Archbishop of Kraków, became the cause’s promoter. He consulted with Cardinal Ottaviani. Elected Pope in 1978, he beatified Sister Faustina on April 18, 1993, and canonized her in the year 2000.The required feast of Divine Mercy on the same day as her canonization: April 30, 2000: *from this point forward, the entire Church will celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter*.The Magisterium’s criteria for evaluating revelations and apparitions are further explored in Pope John Paul II’s encyclical *Redemptoris Mater*, which illuminates the path of faith and spiritual discernment the Church follows in receiving private revelations.Further Study: Explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian Apparitions, and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.

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See the complete list of recognized Marian apparitions by the Church.Do you want to study mariology seriously? This article arises from the works in the Locus Mariologicus library. The Graduate Program in Mariology takes you to the same source, with academic guidance: Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, and the Magisterium, from the first dogma to contemporary issues.Learn more about the Graduate Program in Mariology here.