Obedient to his orders,
she wrote the DIARY, which is now an extraordinarily valuable
document of Catholic mysticism. In the DIARY one can also
find evidence of Fr. Michael Sopocko's extraordinary character
and his work in fulfilling the desires of the Lord Jesus.
He is a priest after
My own Heart (...) Through him it pleases Me to proclaim
the worship of My mercy"
(Diary, 1256).
"His thought
is closely united with Mine, so be at peace about what concerns
My work. I will not let him make a mistake, and you should
do nothing without his permission" (Diary, 1408).
The Servant of God, Fr. Michael Sopocko (1888-1975)
The painting of the
Image and the exposition of the Image for public honor,
making the Chaplet to the Divine Mercy widely known, undertaking
preliminary efforts to establish the Feast of the Divine
Mercy and the founding of the new Congregation, all took
place in Vilnius thanks to the work of Fr. Michael Sopocko.
From that time their collaborative efforts, brought to fruition
at the cost of prayer and suffering, now radiate to embrace
the whole world.
"Seeing Dr Fr. Sopocko 's great sacrifice and effort
in his work, I admired his patience and humility. This all
cost a great deal, not only in terms of toil and various
troubles, but also financially, as Dr Fr. Sopocko was taking
care of all the expenses. I can see that Divine Providence
had prepared him to carry out this work of mercy before
I had asked God for this. Oh, how mysterious are Your ways,
0 God! And how happy are the souls that follow the call
of the Divine mercy!" (Diary, 422).
Fr. Michael Sopocko
was born in Nowosady. near Vilnius (Lithuania). He studied
theology at the University of Vilnius between the years
of 1910 and 1914. He then went on to complete at the Pedagogical
Institute in Warsaw. After obtaining his doctorate in moral
theology in 1926,he became the Spiritual Director of the
seminary in Vilnius. He was tenured in 1934. He worked as
lecturer of pastoral theology at the Theology epartment
of Stefan Batory University in Vilnius and at the Higher
Theological Seminary in Bialystok (1928-1962). Between 1918
and 1932 e was a chaplain in the Polish Army in Warsaw and
Vilnius.
In his published
research works, Fr. Sopocko laid down a theological asis
for the new forms of devotion to the Divine Mercy, to which
he was dedicated apostle. He was deeply engaged in social
work. He was the onfessor for religious and lay communities.
In his letters to the newly
formed congregation of the Divine Mercy, he helped to compose
the constitution of the congregation according to the thinking
and proposals of
St. Faustina. He composed prayers to the Divine Mercy based
on her
texts. He kept in contact with St. Faustina until the time
of her death,
and afterwards took it upon himself to complete the tasks
given to her in
her apparitions. In the DIARY of St. Faustina there are
testimonies bearing witness to the beautiful personality
and inner riches of this holy priest.
"0 my Jesus,
You see how very grateful / am to Father Sopocko, who has
advanced Your work so much. That soul, so humble, has had
to endure all
the storms. He has not allowed himself to become discouraged
by adversities, but has faithfully responded to the call
of God" (Diary, 1586).
"...by day and
by night My gaze is fixed upon him, and I permit these
adversities in order to increase his merit. I do not reward
for good results
but for the patience and hardship undergone for My sake"
(Diary, 86).
"There will
be as many crowns to form his crown as there will be souls
saved by this work"
(Diary, 90).
On April 30th 2000.
Pope John Paul 11 proclaims Sister Faustina Kowalska
a Saint and institutes the FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY for the
whole Church.
20th of December
2004. The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints in
Rome promulgated a decree that stated the due to the heroic
virtues of the Servant of God Fr. Sopocko. The beatification
process would begin. His beatification is scheduled for
28th September 2008
