I have always loved reading biographies. Though unauthorized ones can seem a bit like voyeurism. To find the most inspiring people, I can always count on the lives of the Saints. (See a previous article, ‘What Makes a Saint,’ for the steps to canonization.) Some Saint’s lives can be quite tragic. But for the most part, educational, and inspiring. They show us a path to heroic Virtue. One that is possible to emulate. Some have had extraordinary lives with special graces God has bestowed upon them.
Sister Faustina Kowalski
One such saint is Sister Faustina Kowalski. (1905-1938). This Polish nun was a mystic who was visited by Jesus. Her superior, and spiritual director, Father Sopocko, asked her to keep a diary and write down all her conversations with Jesus. (A best-selling book now known as ‘The Diary of Saint Faustina’).
Jesus’ message was one of repentance of sin and for the world to seek His mercy. He would not hold back His Just Judgment much longer. He was asking her to help him prepare the world for His second coming. Jesus also asked for the Sunday after Easter, to be known as Divine Mercy Sunday.
Jesus asked for an image (painting) to be commissioned as she saw him. This image has white and red rays coming from his heart, known as the Divine Mercy Image. It has an inscription under his figure with the words “Jesus, I trust in you.” Jesus asked Faustina to share it with the world, so all would know of His Divine Mercy and love to all sinners.
She commissioned 3 all total, because she was never fully happy with any of them. She said the artists could never capture His beauty. The fruits of St. Faustina’s visions are the worldwide devotion to the Divine Mercy. Jesus gave Faustina special prayers for us to pray at the hour of death to help a soul receive Jesus’ Mercy. Even the most hardened sinner, if they repent, will receive His mercy.
Even though the Church found her communications with Jesus worthy of belief, that did not make her a saint. One of the steps towards sainthood in the Catholic Church, after someone dies, is verified miracles through their intersession (prayers to God).
The first miracle attributed to Sister Faustina was given to Maureen Digan. Mrs. Digan had a progressive terminal disease called lymphedema. She had more than 50 operations, many with lengthy confinements and the amputation of one leg. Her faith in God was lost among all her suffering. Her husband saw a film on Divine Mercy and Sister Faustina and was convinced they should travel to the grave of Sister Faustina and ask for her intercession.
In 1981 Maureen, her husband, son, and a priest, traveled to Poland to Sister Faustina’s tomb at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy outside of Krakow, Poland. Maureen went to confession for the first time in years. At the tomb, she bluntly said to Sister Faustina, “Okay Faustina, I came a long way, now do something.” Interiorly she heard the voice of Sister Faustina say: “If you ask for my help, I will give it to you.” Suddenly she felt the pain slowly drain away from her and her swollen leg returned to its normal size.
Back in the USA, five independent doctors examined Maureen. Each verified her healing and inexplicable cure for this incurable disease. This documentation was further examined by doctors appointed by the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Then it was forwarded to a team of Theologians, and finally a team of Cardinals and Bishops. The cure was accepted as a miracle through Sister Faustina’s intercession. She was beatified on April 18th, 1993.
A second miracle occurred on Oct. 5th, 1995, for Father Ron Pytel. He and some friends had gathered for prayer at Holy Rosary Church in Baltimore. After some time of praying for the healing of his heart through Sister Faustina’s intercession, the priest venerated a relic of St. Faustina and collapsed. Later, his cardiologist confirmed that his heart had been healed. Father Ron is quoted as saying, “I know in my heart that Faustina put in a word with Jesus, and His Heart touched mine. It’s as simple as that.”
An exhaustive investigation into his healing through almost three years of medical records, doctor interviews and theologians from the Congregation for the Cause of Saints, concluded a total healing of Father Ron’s heart. Pope John Paul II published this healing as a Miracle through Blessed Sister Faustina’s intercession on Dec. 20, 1999. She was canonized in St. Peter’s Square on the second Sunday of Easter, April 30th, of the Jubilee Year 2000. It was celebrated on Divine Mercy Sunday. She was the first declared saint of the 21st century.
Pope John Paul II
Another saint from the 20th century is Pope John Paul II, born Karol Jozef Wojtyla, Wadowice, Poland. (1920-2005). Many regarded him to be a saintly man. When he died the “cause” was started relatively quickly. At least two miracles were attributed to his intercession.
Both John Paul and Faustina were from Poland, but slightly different eras. His mother died when he was only 8. An older brother a physician, also died when he was just a teen. He was the valedictorian at his secondary school. He moved with his father to Krakow, Poland to attend Jagiellonian University. His studies were interrupted by the Nazi invasion in 1939. He saw many priests, professors, and political leaders rounded up and taken to concentration camps. His studies continued but in secret classes. His father died in 1941.
To avoid arrest and deportation, he worked in a chemical factory valuable to the Nazis. His young social adulthood was lived covertly as he participated in underground cultural arts. By 1942 he had decided to enter the priesthood. His continued studies for the priesthood were illegal, and he attended at great risk. In 1944 the Nazis had begun rounding up the last of the able-bodied young men. He spent the rest of the war at the archbishop’s palace disguised as a cleric.
By 1945 Germany was gone only to be replaced by the Soviets. He was ordained in 1946 and continued studies in Rome with a doctorate in Theology. His studies continued back in Poland. As a parish priest, he lectured on Philosophy and social and sexual ethics. He completed a second doctorate, leading to his teaching years, teaching ethics and theology at Jagiellonian University. Later becoming a professor at the Catholic University of Lubin.
By 1958 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow. And by 1963 became the Archbishop of Krakow, and a cardinal in June of 1967.
Even as a priest, he remained an avid outdoorsman, and he took many college students on hiking and rafting expeditions. It was during these excursions he made long-lasting friendships with these young adults. He was a spiritual leader to them, and they freely discussed dating, courtship, and marriage. His better understanding of marital relationships helped him in writing his first non-fiction book, ‘Love and Responsibility.’ (1960)
As a bishop, he became a constant thorn in the side of the communists who were now running his much beloved Poland. History has credited him, in part, to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
One miracle, attributed to him was the healing of Sister Marie Pierre from Parkinson’s disease, diagnosed in 2001. Her condition continued to worsen. She could barely walk, and writing was extremely difficult. Her left arm was unusable.
She would not watch the Pope on TV because he suffered from the same disease. Two months after John Paul’s death (April 2, 2005), she prayed to him. Then, having an urge to write, she found she was able to write as before her illness. The next day she awoke free of all symptoms of the disease. The usual medical investigation proceeded. This miracle led to his beatification.
The second miracle was the healing of Floribeth Mora Diaz. A brain injury after an aneurysm in 2011 left her terminal. Her condition was inoperable, and she was given one month to live. At home, in bed, she had begun praying to Blessed Pope John Paul II. She watched his beatification on TV. and then fell asleep. She woke up hearing John Paul say, “Get up! Don’t be afraid!” Feeling well, she got out of bed and told her husband about her encounter with Pope John Paul.
Floribeth underwent new brain scans and several medical tests. The doctors verified she was instantaneously cured. Another round of tests, this time by doctors in Rome, confirmed the original findings. The process for the Cause continued through its next phases. The Theological Commission and Pope Francis declared Pope John Paul II a saint.
John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday. He was beatified on May 1, 2011. And he was canonized on April 27th, 2014. His canonization process was the fastest in Church history.
Ironically, Pope John Paul II was known as” the saint maker” because he canonized more saints during his reign than any other Pope, 482 in total in the quarter-century that he was Pope, though more than 400 were from groups of martyrs.
