St. Faustina meets St. Thomas Aquinas

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Sep 19, 2024
Father Eugene Grytner, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Bartow, receives a relic of St. Faustina’s clothing from the Superior General of the Sisters of Divine Mercy in Kraków, Poland. (COURTESY)

BARTOW | On Sept. 14 and 15, Father Eugene Grytner, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Bartow, blessed the installation of a relic of St. Faustina Kowalska. Father Grytner went to Kraków, Poland, earlier this summer to collect the relic, a piece of her religious habit.

The installation dates coincided with the anniversary of the Divine Mercy devotion, given to St. Faustina Sept. 13-14 1935. “Jesus taught only two prayers: The Lord’s Prayer and The Chaplet of Divine Mercy,” said Father Grytner.

 

The relic is a piece of the religious habit in which St. Faustina Kowlakska was buried. Jesus revealed to the young Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy nun, the Divine Mercy. (COURTESY)

“St. John Paul II emphasized the importance of the devotion to Divine Mercy. Because the devotion to Divine Mercy is spreading like a bush fire, we already had a small chapel in the Narthex devoted to Divine Mercy with a painting of Divine Mercy Jesus, painted by a Polish artist,” explained Father Grytner. He said they wanted a relic of the Polish saint to remember Jesus gave the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to St. Faustina.

A request to obtain a relic of the saint was granted by the superior general of the Sisters of Divine Mercy in Kraków, Poland, where the saint lived, died and was buried.

Staff Report, September 19, 2024