The most popular image of Christ on the globe today is that of the Merciful Jesus. It is more popular than the face from the Shroud of Turin, icons of Andrei Rublev or paintings of Renaissance masters. It can be found in all countries inhabited by Catholics; not only in churches but in private homes and places of work.

The unusual thing is that this is an image ( in terms of the history of Christianity) of relatively fresh date. Exactly today is the 90th anniversary of its revelation. The second extraordinary thing is that the idea for the image was not conceived in the mind of some painter, but appeared in a supernatural vision experienced by an insignificant nun after four years of primary school and, what is more, lacking any artistic abilities.

The revelation took place on 22 February 1931 in the convent in Płock. It was then that Christ ordered Sister Faustina to paint a picture in accordance with the vision He had revealed her. She tried to do it herself, but the effect was poor. So she tried to make others interested in this work, but she failed.

The situation changed in the summer of 1933, when she met Fr Michal Sopoćko in Vilnius, who became her confessor and spiritual director. She managed to convince him of the idea of painting a picture, although he mentioned that he agreed more out of curiosity about what would come of it than out of faith in the truth of her revelation. Before doing so, he sent her for a psychiatric examination. However, her examination did not confirm his suspicions of any mental illness.

Coincidentally, Fr Sopoćko lived in the building where the famous Vilnius painter Eugenijus Kazimirovski had his studio. The priest encouraged the artist to create the image. This is how the first painting of the Merciful Jesus came into being. The work lasted from January to June 1934. The priest posed for the painter, and Sister Faustina came once a week to check whether the painting was consistent with the vision she had been carrying in her soul for three years.

Although the painting was created, it remained unknown to the world. It was only in April 1938 that Fr Sopoćko decided to display the painting permanently in the church.

The following year, however, war broke out, and the Lithuanians entered Vilnius, followed by the Soviets, then the Germans, and then the Soviets again. The painting was not displayed in public. This became possible only after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the meantime, other paintings of the Merciful Jesus were being created, but there was another problem: the Polish Episcopate’s objections to the cult. Over time, this resistance was overcome.

In 1981, Faustina Kowalska’s „Diary” first appeared in print, which also spread the idea of the Merciful Jesus image.

Considering all these circumstances, it is even more astonishing that the image of the Merciful Jesus has become the most widespread image of Christ on the globe in such a short period of time.

Tłum. K.J.