Helena Kowalska, now known as Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament, was born in Glogowiec, Leczyca County, in Poland on August 25, 1905. She was born as the third oldest out of ten children to a poor and religious family. Faustina felt her calling at an early age and she wanted to join the convent immediately after finishing school, but her parents wouldn’t allow it. Instead, Faustina became a housekeeper at the age of sixteen to support her family and herself. In 1924, Faustina experienced her first vision of Jesus and He instructed her to leave for Warsaw immediately and join a convent. While in Warsaw, Faustina approached many different convents, but none of them excepted her because of her appearances and she was sometimes …show more content…
In 1928, Faustina took her first religious vows as a nun. Over the next year, Faustina traveled convents as a cook and in May 1930, when she was in Plock, Poland, she began to show the first signs of her illness. She was sent away to rest and returned to the convent several months later. On February 22, 1931, Faustina was visited by Jesus, who presented himself as the “King of Divine Mercy”. “One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale,” Faustina described in her diary. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy. She was to be a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. Jesus also instructed Faustina to “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.” He also said that he wanted the Divine Mercy image to be, “solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of