THE STORY OF IMAGE OF MERCIFUL JESUS
 |
The house where the first image of Merciful Jesus was painted.
In the background – church converted by Soviet authorities into a prison. It remained in operation until 2008.
At the beginning of 1934 Fr Sopoćko commissioned painting of the image of Merciful Jesus
to a Vilnius artist, Prof. E. Kazimirowski, whose apartment and studio were located in the same building where Fr Sopoćko lived. Sister Faustina, who stayed in Vilnius (see The house of Congregation) during the whole period of painting the image, visited the studio to give the details of it.
Fr Sopoćko personally made sure that the image was painted exactly according to her instructions. He fitted the size of the canvas – on which the image was to be painted – to the old frame he got from one of the parishioners. The painting process took about half a year, and when the image
was ready, Fr Sopoćko requested sister Faustina to ask Jesus how to position the inscription:
(see Fr Sopoćko Memoirs).
"Once, my confessor (Father Sopoćko) asked me where the inscription should be placed, because there was not enough space in the picture for everything. I said I would pray and give him an answer the following week. When I left the confessional and was passing before the Blessed Sacrament, I received an inner understanding about the inscription. Jesus reminded me of what He had told me the first time; namely, that these words must be clearly in evidence: Jesus, I trust in You" (Diary, 327).
"Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature:
Jesus, I trust in You" (Diary, 47).
"I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces
to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature:
Jesus, I trust in You" (Diary, 327).
The inscription, which is a significant part of the image, was written on a separate board
and placed at the bottom part of the picture’s frame. Then, as Our Lord Jesus explicitly requested through Sister Faustina, Fr Sopoćko began making efforts to place the image in St. Michael’s
Church in Vilnius, where he held the post of a rector.
As a result, on April 4th 1937, with the consent of Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius,
Romuald Jałbrzykowski, the painting of the Most Merciful Saviour, positively reviewed by experts, was hung next to the high altar in St. Michael’s Church, where it was worshipped by the faithful
for about eleven years.
The second committee of experts, set up at the Archbishop’s request in 1941, stated that:
“The image is painted in an artistic manner and it constitutes a valuable contribution
to the contemporary religious art". (The Commission’s Report on the assessment and conservation
of the image of the Most Merciful Saviour in the St. Michael’s Church in Vilnius dated
May 27th, 1941, signed by the following experts: Professor of History of Art, M. Morelowski,
Professor of Dogmatics, Fr L. Puchaty, and the restorer Fr P. Śledziewski, PhD)
(see Fr Sopoćko Memoirs).
 |
The painting in St. Michael’s Church (1937-1948)
In 1948, after the St. Michael’s Church had been closed by Soviet authorities, the painting
(without the frame and the inscription) was secretly and illegally purchased from a Lithuanian
worker who was removing the temple’s furnishings. The purchase was made by two women
(a Pole and a Lithuanian) who were well aware of the possible consequences they could suffer
from the Soviet authorities. They removed the rolled-up painting from the church and hid
it for some time in the attic.
Later on, they passed it over to the Church of the Holy Spirit where all the movables
from the closed church were deposited. The parish priest of the Church of the Holy Spirit,
Fr Jan Ellert was not interested in either keeping the image or displaying it, so he hid it
in the storage at the back of the church. It was not until 1956 when the friend of Fr Sopoćko,
Fr Józef Grasewicz, who returned to Vilnius after being released from a Soviet labour camp,
decided to search for the painting. He got in touch with Fr Sopoćko who was agonising over
the lack of information about the image of Merciful Jesus.
Fr Grasewicz got the permission to resume his religious service in Nowa Ruda. Before leaving Vilnius, he asked the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Spirit if he could move the painting
to his parish in Nowa Ruda. The response to his request was positive. Thus, Fr Grasewicz brought
the painting to Nowa Ruda and placed it in the church keeping its origin a secret. Despite many changes in the administration of the church, the painting stayed in Nowa Ruda for about thirty years.
 |
 |
The painting in Nowa Ruda, today Belarus (1956-1986)
In 1970, the local communist authorities in Nowa Ruda decided to convert the church
into a warehouse. The furnishings from the liquidated church were moved to another parish. However, the painting was left in the desolate church for some seemingly trivial reason:
it was hung high up and the ladder was not long enough to reach it. Fr Sopoćko was at that time
in Poland and he could do nothing to protect the painting.
He was deeply concerned and asked Fr Grasewicz to move it to a different, safer place.
That was not possible as Fr Grasewicz had to leave his parish, and all the priests in Belarus
were too afraid to host the painting. The painting of Merciful Jesus, for years left in the abandoned wooden church, survived the dangerous area of communism.
Fr Grasewicz was concerned about the painting throughout his whole life and was secretly
sending numerous requests to move the painting to Vilnius. His request to place the painting
in the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, where it was originally displayed to be worshipped publicly,
did not reach the Fr Grasewicz until 1982 (already after the death of Fr Sopoćko).
The then vicar at the Gate of Dawn Fr Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz refused and suggested placing
the painting in the Church of the Holy Spirit, where the Fr Aleksander Kaszkiewicz was the parish priest. Initially hesitant, Fr Kaszkiewicz eventually agreed to hang the picture in the Church
of the Holy Spirit. This way Fr Grasewicz made the decision to bring the painting back to Vilnius.
To steer the communists’ attention away from the extraordinary origin of the painting, one
November night in 1986, the original painting in Nowa Ruda was secretly replaced with the prepared earlier copy. With the assistance of the sisters of the Mother of Mercy (from the Gate of Dawn),
the canvas was removed from the stretcher bar, rolled up, and, at the same night, taken first
to Grodno, and then to the Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius.
In the Church of the Holy Spirit Fr Kaszkiewicz ordered the restoration of the painting
– the damaged areas were covered with a new layer of the paint, which substantially changed
the image of the face of Jesus, and the red inscription “JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU” was added. Moreover, to fit the painting to the recess in the altar, the bottom edge of the image
was folded-up and an oval part was added at the top.
The changes were inconsistent with the artistic look of the image composed by Prof. Kazimirowski
in collaboration with sister Faustina and Fr Sopoćko. It was a drastic interference,
which considerably decreased the original value of the work.
 |
|
The image in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius (1987-2005)
before and after the restoration
During the conservation works in 2003, the primary form of the picture was reinstated.
The painting was thoroughly restored and remained in the Church of the Holy Spirit until
September 2005. This church is a parish church for the Polish people living in Vilnius.
Holy Masses and other services are said only in Polish.
At the beginning of 2004, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius, Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis, decided to move the image of Merciful Jesus to a small church nearby (the Church of the Holy Trinity), which was converted into a Divine Mercy Shrine.
The parishioners of the Church of the Holy Spirit felt emotionally attached to the “Holy Image”
and were well aware of its unusual significance, thus they were against the Archbishop’s decision. They tried to keep the picture, arguing that the small Church of the Holy Trinity had not enough space and it had inconvenient location (in the neighbourhood of nightclubs), and thus could not provide proper conditions for individual contemplation – adoration of Merciful Jesus
– for everyone, at any time, regardless the nationality.
Despite the protests, the Metropolitan Archbishop upheld his decision. All the events resulted
in controversial discussions in all the public media (not only catholic). The situation unintentionally turned into the first positive promotion of the picture of Merciful Jesus in Vilnius and its history
– the message of Divine Mercy passed through the Saint Faustina.
In September 2005, the first image of Merciful Jesus was placed in the Divine Mercy Shrine
where sisters and secular worshippers entrust the World to Divine Mercy in their daily prayers.
Like any other church, the shrine is hosting also church services, including weddings and baptisms.
 |
DIVINE MERCY SHRINE
12 Dominikonu St, Vilnius.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius entrusted the prayer service at the Shrine
in the Congregation of Sisters of Merciful Jesus as a continuation of the service they
have been providing already since 2001 in the Church of the Holy Spirit.
The Congregation was established by the Blessed Fr Michal Sopoćko and it has become
a multinational community which continues to spread the Merciful Jesus devotion and pray
for the Divine Mercy for the world through a word, deed, and prayer in 36 convents. In 2008,
the Congregation was approved as a religious centre under Papal Law (see Congregation).
In June 1935, in Vilnius, Sister Faustina wrote in her Diary:
“God demands that there be a Congregation which will proclaim the mercy of God to the world and, by its prayers, obtain it for the world" (Diary, 436).
“I desire that there be such a Congregation” (Diary, 437).
In 2004, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius designated the house where the first image
of Merciful Jesus was painted to become the Convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Merciful Jesus. Thanks to generous donations the house was adopted to meet the needs of the Congregation. At present, it is the place where the sisters spread the message of Divine Mercy to numerous
pilgrims visiting the Congregation.
 |
The house were the first image of Merciful Jesus was painted
Presently, it serves as a CONVENT OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF MERCIFUL JESUS.
4a Rasu St, Vilnius.
THE CONSERVATION OF THE PAINTING
The first image of Merciful Jesus, placed in the side altar at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius
in 1987, did not draw much attention from either pilgrims or the church authorities. The lack
of proper conditions for the exposition of the image had adverse effects on its physical substance.
It was not until July 2001, when thanks to the courtesy of Fr Mirosław Grabowski, the parish priest
of the Church of the Holy Spirit, the Congregation of the Sisters of Merciful Jesus was able
to establish a new centre in Vilnius (approved by the Vilnius curia) and take proper care
of this exceptional and invaluable painting. For many years now the Congregation has been trying
to promote the first image of Merciful Jesus, the one that came into existence in an atmosphere
filled with God’s miracle making power – the prayer and suffering of Saint Faustina, her presence and collaboration.
Thanks to the efforts and devotion of sisters, in April 2003, a thorough restoration of the painting
was performed in the chapel of the sisters’ convent in Vilnius. All the overpaints and stains
(resulting from moisture and attempts of chemical cleaning) were removed, and all the defects
were repaired. As a result of this restoration, the original image of Merciful Jesus was reconstructed.
Some of the defects in the painting canvas could be removed only by applying patches glued
to the canvas on the underside. They resulted from the multiple removal of the canvas
off the stretcher (nail holes), and folding up 4cm of the bottom part (in 1987 the painting was fitted
in the altar in the Church of the Holy Spirit). Although invisible upon the painting’s display,
these defects constitute some of the characteristic features of the painting.
 |
The folded-up bottom stripe
(Visible are nail holes which are the effect of triple changing of the stretchers)
During the conservation in 2003 the painting was re-fastened to the stretcher bar.
On the initiative of the organizers and sponsors of the conservation works conducted in 2003
– the Foundation of the Apostles of Merciful Jesus in Łódź (see Copy of agreement) – a professional photographic session of the painting was held in the Church of the Holy Spirit in March 2004.
Since that time, the photocopies of the first image of Merciful Jesus (produced from 20cm slides made with professional camera) have been propagated and made available for public evangelization (see High resolution images for printing).
“By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces,
so may every soul have access to it" (Diary, 570).
PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION
Part of the painting before the restoration |
Removal of the overpaints |
||
After the removal of overpaints |
Part of the painting after the restoration |
|
|
||
The painting before the restoration (2003) |
After the removal of the overpaints |
 |
The painting after the restoration
 |
Removal of the layers of overpaints from the altered parts of the painting
Courtesy of the restorer’s archive from 2003
Despite the thorough restoration, the condition of the painting is considerably impaired.
The painting should be displayed in proper conditions according to the restorer’s
recommendations. The restoration was conducted by Ms Edyta Hankowska-Czerwińska
of Włocławek, e-mail: edycja@autograf.pl, an art restorer, graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts
at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.
On August 3rd, 2009, at the Divine Mercy Shrine, the Vilnius restorer Edyta Hankowska-Czerwińska conducted a periodic check-up of the condition of the painting. She described it as good with no need for any conservation. At the same day, in the presence of the representatives of the Archdiocese of Vilnius and accompanying persons, Ms Hankowska-Czerwińska took several pictures of the particular sections of the painting using a digital camera. The pictures were taken to perform a comparative expertise of the painting from the time of its display in the Church of the Holy Spirit with its current condition at the Divine Mercy Shrine.
The sudden removal of the painting from the Church of the Holy Spirit, without the formal inventory report, and moving it for two hours outside the Divine Mercy Shrine, caused the concerns about the painting, and, consequently, the stream of unnecessary public speculations. Both secular and religious persons suspected that the original painting was replaced with its replica. The speculations about the situation have persisted and are extremely harmful to the development of the Divine Mercy devotion. The image of the Most Merciful Jesus the Saviour is one of the forms of the Divine Mercy devotion and has been worshiped and honoured by the faithful.
It was urgent and necessary to perform the documented comparative expertise. Its results have been made public (page 1 to 5, the page with the description of the expertise, and some reference tables).
The entire expertise contains 32 pages of text and 21 pages of photographic evidence.
(see Excerpts from the expertise)
The performed expertise unanimously confirms that the painting displayed at the Divine Mercy Shrine is the same painting which was removed from the Church of the Holy Spirit.
FORWARD >> Contemplating Jesus
<<
table of contents
www.faustina-message.com
All rights reserved. © The Congregation of the Sisters of Merciful Jesus.
The texts may be copied only on the condition that the full name of the source
is acknowledged
and an active link to www.faustina-message.com is provided.