At the request of Jesus himself, Saint Faustina and her confessor, Fr. Michal Sopocko (sah-'poach-ko), worked in secret with a relatively unknown artist to duplicate on a canvas her mystical vision of the Merciful Jesus. With Fr. Sopocko modeling for the artist to capture some of the more difficult to understand details being given by Sr. Faustina, the three unlikely friends eventually came up with the only Image of Divine Mercy that Saint Faustina ever saw.
After more than 2800 screenings before audiences around the world, the film which become "The Hallmark of the Holy Year of Mercy" was finally made available on DVD! This groundbreaking documentary tells the previously-unknown history of the original masterpiece commissioned by St. Faustina.
After the painting was complete, and after all the corrections and touch-ups made at the insistence of Saint Faustina, the violently ant-Catholic Soviet occupation of Vilnius, Lithuania, forced the painting into hiding for many years. The painting switch hands 7 times, but not without great cost to those involved, until finally, two humble nuns bravely transported the miraculous painting across the dangerous border between Lithuania and Belarus. The painting was finally restored and installed in its permanent home in a beautiful shrine in Vilnius in accordance with the wills of Saint Faustina Kowalska and Blessed Fr. Michal Sopocko.
Despite the popularity of the devotion to Divine Mercy around the world, very few realize the importance of The Original Image of Divine Mercy.
Despite the popularity of the devotion to Divine Mercy around the world, very few realize the importance of The Original Image of Divine Mercy.