Father Michael Sopocko came to Vilnius on December 8, 1924. He took the Army Ministry
and decided that together with the Army Chaplains, there should be a conference on Religion
and morality in every squad twice a week. The Army Region Ministry in Vilnius consisted of 12 individual units. There were 10,000 soldiers altogether. Due to lack of Army Church, the soldiers attended devotions in Parish Churches. It became an urgent necessity for the Army to obtain
a Church for them.

Father Sopocko requested for a meeting with the Army, Church, government and city authority
to be held. He presented in this meeting the difficulty in the Army Ministry, as well as, the proposal to build a Church in the garrison. It was decided that for this purpose, the old Church of St. Ignatius would be rebuilt, which was previously made into the officer’s casino by the Czar’s authority,
and was ruined. The Chaplain was very passionate in his homilies and at the same time, he would request for donations for the building of the Church for the Army. He was optimistic to start the building of the Church, but it became a long, laborious toil. Father Sopocko arranged a temporary Chapel of Christ the King in one of the annexes of the Church, while the construction was going
on. In the Chapel, he would celebrate devotions for the families of the officers. Lay people throughout the city would come and participate in the devotions. Other devotions were arranged
in another Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows situated at the Army Cemetery.

After getting accustomed with the Army Ministry, a situation came up, and Fr. Sopocko was assigned to organize the Youth Ministry by the Bishop. He invited the teachers to cooperate
in this work. He was able to create a few Polish Youth Associations with the help of the teachers, which were similar to that of Poznan’s Associations. In short period of time, the Polish Youth Union was officially registered.

Together with the organizers and members Of the Youth Association, Vilnius 1926

All these were done in less than half a year upon arrival of Fr. Sopocko to Vilnius. However,
his health was greatly affected by tireless work and enormous energy that he put into his Army
and Youth Ministries. In the spring of 1925, Fr. Sopocko was ordered by his doctors to transfer
to Zakopane for treatment, which lasted for three months. All his works at this time remain stagnant.

Father Sopocko was faced with difficult task of reorganizing the existing situation. He continued
to find funds by the help of the ladies from the "Circle Helping the Soldiers", integrating in his homilies, conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, organizing street collections, raffles and other fundraising - entertainment. But all these brought very little funds to the efforts they put into these activities. He sought help from the Ministry of the Army Matters. He busied himself organizing sale purchase of building materials. He was able to utilize working army brigades with the help of army superiors, which gave him cheaper labor cost. Twice he took the opportunity to ask the Polish Marshall Pilsudski personally for donation when the said person came to visit Vilnius. He received a dozen or so thousands of Polish zlote. Prior to his coming to Vilnius, Fr. Sopocko was engaged
in didactical work in Warsaw. He continued his Theological studies by correspondence. He was preparing for his doctorate work on Moral Theology entitled: "Family In Legislature On Polish Land." After two years, despite of limited time owing to all his duties and tasks, he was able
to plead it with the Theology Faculty in Warsaw University on March 1, 1926.

To be engaged in Science work, it is required to have knowledge of other languages. For this reason, Fr. Sopocko started to polish his German and at the same time, he studied English
and French privately. After obtaining his doctorate, he prepared himself for another work,
and that is to qualify for assistant professor. While continuing to work as director in spiritual ministry of Vilnius Army District in 1927 and 1928, Fr. Sopocko was appointed with a very responsible position as the spiritual director of the Seminary and Head of the Pastoral Theology
of Vilnius University. This new task obliged him to withdraw from Army Ministry. The Army Bishop was very keen to keep this devoted, known and excellent chaplain, and he was reluctant
to terminate his position. All the time that Fr. Sopocko was the Army Chaplain, the renovation
of St. Ignatius Church continued. Fr. Sopocko endured the difficulty of fulfilling the few responsible positions through the next number of years.

Archbishop Romuald Jalbrzykowski, who was made Ordinary Bishop of Vilnius Archdiocese
in 1925, appointed Fr. Michael Sopocko as Spiritual Director of Vilnius Seminary. This great responsibility of the formation of future priests obliged him to be relieved from Superintendent’s Office where he gave lectures in Teacher’s Courses. He also asked for additional third attendant
in his Army Ministry in Vilnius District. From the autumn of 1927, Fr. Sopocko divided his duties between the seminary and the army. He was not prepared for the seminary work and his ministry as spiritual director, and so he was surprised by it, but eventually these tasks fitted him. Besides being the spiritual director, Fr. Sopocko was also the moderator of Marian Sodality, Eucharistic Circle, Third Order of St. Francis and Circle of the Seminarians’ Union of Mission Clergy.

As a Spiritual Director and Professor together with the seminarians of the Seminary in Vilnius.

From the beginning of his pastoral work, Fr. Sopocko was very sensitive to the problem
of alcoholism. He also served as confessor to the religious sisters of which extended his stay
in Vilnius. In September 1929, St. Ignatius Church was consecrated for the use of the Garrison
of Vilnius District Army. Fr. Sopocko was freed from many years of intensive duty as spiritual director and from the work of renovating the church. Likewise, Fr. Sopocko was relieved from his duty in the Army ministry by the Army Bishop, and he was given a three- year vacation without pay.

At the time of his release from the Army ministry, and the moment of his engagement
at the University, his main tasks were teachings and science work. There were no specific books
for his lectures and teachings; therefore, Fr. Sopocko had to make photocopies for the subjects
he was teaching and for his students. The scientific research of Fr. Sopocko was mostly connected with his thesis, which referred to the problem of spiritual upbringing and formation, and to qualify him as an assistant professor. To collect materials for his work, Fr. Sopocko went on research
to various libraries in Western European countries.

The journey was fruitful both for scientific and religious matters. At the same time, he visited
places of devotion and centers of religious life. Besides, working on his thesis, Fr. Sopocko was also writing articles relating to science, which made it popular in the pastoral theology.
He wrote articles in Churches encyclopedia; he gave lectures on science, and he was engaged
in journalism. Besides his basic duties resulting from the appointment of superiors, Fr. Sopocko was also engaged in social work and other religious organizations. He was in contact with men and women of Marian Sodality. He would give lectures and conferences to these groups. He was also able to utilize them in working with the youth, which he organized. The Catholic University
of Lublin (Poland) initiated the Catholic Intelligence Circle. Fr. Sopocko participated it its work, especially in the area of interior of the interior life of this circle.

Being more engaged in the scientific work, Fr. Sopocko once again asked the Army Bishop’s permission to be relieved from his duty as Army Chaplain, which was granted by the Bishop.
He also requested from Archbishop Jalbrzykowski to be released from the duty of spiritual director, which was given him eventually.

In September 1932, Fr. Sopocko was released from the service in the Seminary. He moved
to the convent of the Visitation Sisters, where there were appropriate facilities for science work.
He finished his thesis entitled: "THE PURPOSE, SUBJECT AND THE OBJECT OF THE SPIRITUAL UPBRINGING ACCORDING TO M. LECZYCKI." On 15th May 1934, Fr. Sopocko passed the examination and qualified him as assistant professor, together with Professor A. Borowski from
the Department of Pastoral Theology at Warsaw University. The Ministry of Religious Confessions and Public Education nominated him as Assistant Professor at the same university, following which; this title was forwarded to the Department of Pastoral Theology of Stephan Batory’s University
in Vilnius.

Among students of Stephan Batory University, Vilnius.

In March of 1934, FR. Sopocko made a pilgrimage to Holy Land, which gave him a great experience that he wrote later in his memoirs and other publications.

In Julyof 1934, Archbishop Jalbrzykowski nominated Fr. Sopocko rector of St. Michael Church
in Vilnius. By this church, there was a convent of the Bernadine Sisters to which he became
the confessor. As the rector of the church, he built himself an apartment and got busy with
the renovation of the church, as well as the preservation of the miraculous picture of Our Lady, which was crowned by Benedict XIV in 1750. He also repaired the adjacent convent appropriate
for contemplation as required in the convent since it’s been disrupted due to secular use as accommodation. He covered most of the cost from his own savings. His duties as the rector
of St. Michael’s Church lasted until 1938.

During the period of Fr. Sopocko’s pastoral service at St. Michael Church, he made an important connection in his future life and mission by meeting Sister Faustina Kowalska of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. He became the confessor of this Congregation from 1932. In 1933, Sister Faustina came to Vilnius and became the penitent of Fr. Sopocko. In her person, Fr. Sopocko met the worshipper of Divine Mercy, of which by God’s grace, he himself had experienced and worshipped. Sister Faustina found Fr. Sopocko a God-fearing and wise confessor that she was allowed to foresee through her interior experiences. She started to share more deeply with him
her spiritual experiences and visions. Fr. Sopocko ordered Sister Faustina to write them down,
of which, he was able to review and evaluate. From these writings came to be her spiritual diary. Sister Faustina related the revelations of our Savior, which she experienced in Vilnius and even prior to her coming to Vilnius. She told Fr. Sopocko of the two orders that she received at those times: to paint the Image of the Most Merciful Savior and the Founding of the Feast of Divine Mercy on the First Sunday after Easter.

Father Sopocko asked Eugene Kaziminorowski to paint the image. Sister Faustina with her confessor would go and see the artist for few months in 1934, directing and instructing the artist. According to St. Faustina, Jesus was not as beautiful as He was in her vision; but Christ told her that the picture would suffice to be used as a vessel of His graces of mercy.

Sister Faustina also received an order to found a religious Congregation spread the idea of Divine Mercy, as well as prayers to Divine Mercy. There was another form of prayers and devotion that
she received, that is, the Novena and the Chaplet. Prior to the public display of the image
and any talk on God’s mercy as His attribute, Fr. Sopocko made an intensive research on this matter that is according to Church’s teachings, experiences and spiritual lives, as well as, contents of sr. Faustina’s revelations. He hanged the picture in the corridor of the Convent of the Bernadine Sisters, without revealing to any one its origin. However, Sister Faustina informed Fr. Sopocko
of the Lord’s discontent, and demanded to hang the image in "Ostra Brama" (which means,
the Sharp Gate), at least for the celebration of the Redemption Jubilee in 1935. Fr. Sopocko
fulfilled this demand. With the permission of the parish priest, Fr. Sopocko placed the image
on the ?ambulatory in the Chapel. At that appointed Sunday, Fr. Sopocko gave the homily
on Divine Mercy.

In March 1936, Sr. Faustina left Vilnius and moved to Walendow, near Warsaw, and after
a brief stay, she was transferred to Lagiewniki, Krakow. Fr. Sopocko had kept contact with
Sr. Faustina, as well as visiting her in Krakow, that led him to the work in bringing to the world
the mystery of Divine Mercy. In 1937, Fr. Sopocko asked permission from Archbishop R. Jalbrzykowski to hang the image of Merciful Jesus in St. Michael Church. On April 4, 1937,
the First Sunday after Easter, the day planned for the Feast, Fr. Sopocko blessed the image
and placed it at the main altar, without revealing the origin of it.

Fr. Sopocko continued his theological research on justifications of the existing God’s attribute
of mercy. He also wanted to establish basis to endorse the order of the Feast from sr. Faustina’s visions. Fr. Sopocko presented the result of the research and arguments for introducing the Feast, in the few articles of Theological periodicals. He also presented the same in separate works
on the subject of Divine Mercy.

At the end of 1937,the health of St. Faustina evidently deteriorated. Fr. Sopocko visited her
in the beginning of September 1938, and she was already in her deathbed. She directed him
with urgency that he should not stop in spreading the devotion to the Divine Mercy, and the establishment of the Feast. With regards to the Congregation, St. Faustina related that it would
start small and would be initiated by others. She herself resigned to the fact that it wouldn’t
be given to her to found this new Congregation. It’s the same with the painting of the image,
which was demanded directly to her. Sister Faustina died on October 5, 1938.

After the outbreak of war in September 1939, Fr. Sopocko decided to bring to the open Sister Faustina’s revelations. He sensed that the tragedy of war and the connected events began
to confirm the genuineness of the revelations. The idea of Divine Mercy also connected with
the idea of building the new church in the district of Snipizki and to be named as such. It was
a suburb of Vilnius where trade people and army families lived, and army barracks were located. In 1938, works through donation started when the Divine Mercy Church Building Committee
was created. Soon the State Office and Archbishop R. Jalbrzykowski accepted the registration. However, political situation broke the initiated work and finally destroyed it. The Soviet Army plundered the bricks and used them for building the defense walls, and bank savings were also lost. In 1940, Fr. Sopocko was insistently busy in obtaining permission to build, at least a chapel, but to no avail.

YEARS OF OCCUPATION AND POST - WAR IN VILNIUS

Father Sopocko had no savings before the repression of the occupation. He also experienced
the severity of the occupation. He accepted the appointment as Rector of St. Ignatius Church
in September 1939 by the Archbishop’s Curia. It only lasted a brief period and he was released
from this task, soon following the taking over of Vilnius by the Lithuanians in October 28,
by the virtue of agreement of Soviet-Lithuanian. Fr. J. Panawa, Chaplain of Lithuanian Army
was appointed rector of St. Ignatius Church. The difficult situation of the war, the spreading of evil among people and nations, particularly in Europe - enhanced the conviction of Fr. Sopocko about the need of God’s Mercy for the world. He began with even greater conviction to proclaim Divine Mercy of which the world was in need. Parish priests from Vilnius and also from other provinces invited him to give conferences. During Lenten devotions in Vilnius Cathedral, he would give
a talk on Divine Mercy, and a great crowd of the faithful came from all over Vilnius. These talks resounded all over the city.

During this time, Fr. Sopocko also started working on treatise about the idea of Divine Mercy
and the Feast to honor it: "DE MISERICORDIA DEI DEQUE EIUSDEM FESTO INSTITUENDO."
He was encouraged to do this work by Cardinal August Hlond even before the war. Father Sopocko presented to the Cardinal his research regarding the matter of Divine Mercy. But in June 1940 Lithuania was again taken over by the "Red Army," and was merged to Soviet Union after a month, as its fifteenth republic. Fr. Sopocko was forced to stop meeting with the groups that he was taking care of. He was also deprived of the possibility of publishing the treatise about Divine Mercy. Jadwiga (Harriet) Osinska, who knew classic philology came to help and took care of the language of the treatise. Together with her acquaintances, she took upon herself to photocopy the work
and sent it to different people who would leave Vilnius. In this way, Fr. Sopocko’s work was able
to get to many countries, especially to the Bishops in Europe and in the world.

Fr. Sopocko became a suspect because he was proclaiming the idea and devotion of Divine Mercy. He was warned by the Registration Office worker, and so was able to escape the arrest.
He left Vilnius to keep safe. Fr. Sopocko continued to give conferences on Divine Mercy in Olicie,
Zyzmory, Merecz and other parishes, which is the only help in those difficult times. When
the danger was gone, Fr. Sopocko returned to Vilnius and began teaching in the Seminary.
The new academic year 1940/41 began, regardless of difficulty of material and environmental circumstances. He again moved by the St. Michael Church, where the image of Most Merciful Jesus was placed, and was surrounded by much greater devotion.

On June 22, 1941, German-Soviet war broke out. Vilnius found itself under new occupation
and Jewish people in particular were discriminated. Prior to war, Fr. Sopocko started catechizing and doing baptismal preparation particularly on Jews. His efforts were fruitful and he baptized
65 people. He assisted the Jewish people both materially and spiritually. This kind of action posed
a threat and had dangerous consequences, including losing one’s life. The Gestapo got track
of his work, to the extent that Fr. Sopocko was arrested for few days.

In summer of 1941, Fr. Sopocko participated in the beginnings of the Congregation of the Sisters, whose purpose is to spread the devotion to Divine Mercy. J. Osinska cooperated with him.
She was a person of many talents and with rich personality. She had the desire to make a special consecration to serve God. She shared this desire with Fr. Sopocko and asked him to be her spiritual director - for prayer and counsel. Fr. Sopocko wrote her back, as well as, her few
other friends, who were living in the same idea and rules; and he arranged with them a weekly conference on spiritual life. He also proposed to them to spend time with the Sisters of the Angels in Pryciuny, so that they might have a better insight about religious life and the practical way
to immerse into ascetic exercises.

Their time in Pryciuny was like a retreat for J. Osinska, after which, she expressed her desire
to offer her life in bringing to reality the idea that came from Sister Faustina Kowalska. She wanted to do it by founding a new Congregation of Divine Mercy. She also asked permission to make her simple private vows on the 15th October, the memorial day of her patroness. Father Sopocko seeing God’s work in this matter, granted her request. On the proposed date, she took her vows
in the Ursulines Sisters’ Chapel on Skopowka Street, taking the name Faustina.

At the end of 1941, the terror of German occupation intensified. On the last Sunday of Advent, owing to the alleged epidemic, all the churches in Vilnius were locked, and arrests followed.
On March 3, 1942, the Germans started a widespread hunt for priests. They arrested professors
and alumni of the seminary, as well as, almost all priests who were working in Vilnius. Soon after this Archbishop R. Jalbrzykowski was arrested and interned in the Convent of Marian Fathers.
On the day of the arrests in the seminary, the Gestapo also made a trap for Fr. Sopocko in his apartment. But, warned by his housekeeper, Fr. Sopocko was able to escape. He was still able
to reach the Archbishop’s Curia. He informed the Archbishop that the Gestapo was in search
for him, and requested to be released from teaching in the seminary. Fr. Sopocko also asked
for blessings for the time that he was going to hide away. Sisters placed Fr. Sopocko in a rented house in a forest, two kilometers from Czarny Bor town.

During the wartime. Searched by the "Gestapo", he hid in Czarny Bór
at the Ursuline Sisters convent where he worked as a gardener.

Through the intervention of the people from Country’s Army, Fr. Sopocko was able to obtain
a falsified identity card with the name of Waclaw Rodziewicz. From this time on, he was known
as carpenter, making simple tools and implements, for local people. Everyday, Fr. Sopocko would celebrate Holy Mass early in the morning, and would spend a lot of time for prayers and personal reflection. He would also go to the Sisters’ Convent in Czarny Bor every few weeks for confession. Fr. Sopocko also made himself busy with scientific work, based on literature J. Osinska and her friends brought him. Germans and Lithuanians were together searching for him almost all throughout Lithuania among priests and parish houses.
In Autumn of 1944, regardless of the very difficult circumstances, Archbishop Jalbrzykowski ordered that the seminary should resume its activity. Fr. Sopocko assumed his appointed work. Together with other professors and alumni, he would go to country parishes to collect contributions of agricultural produce to support the seminary. Our future religious sisters found themselves work, and once a week, they would gather together with their guardian for spiritual conferences.
In the beginning of November, they asked him to be their retreat master to prepare them
for the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mercy in Ostra Brama (Sharp Gate). They wanted to renew
their private vows on that day.

Fr. Sopocko accepted with joy the request of the six ladies. On November 16, after participating
in the Holy Mass in the Carmelite Chapel on Zarzecze street, the six ladies offered their lives
for the service of the Most Merciful Savior and His Mother of Mercy through the ceremony of simple vows. Due to new political system and the danger of personal repression (persecution?), sisters were forced to leave Vilnius. Prior to leaving, J. Osinska asked Fr. Sopocko to write for them
the general outline of the Constitutions for the Congregation that was being formed. They wanted this to present to the Church authority. Father prepared a document in Latin entitled:
"INSTITUTI RELIGIOSI YOTORUM SIMPLICIUM SUB DENOMINATIONE ANCILLARUM MISERICORDIAE DIVINAE. CONSTITUTIONES." On August 26, 1946, the six sisters went to Wroclaw to continue their assumed work.

Fr. Sopocko also undertook pastoral work outside Vilnius, from which, he took advantage of this opportunity to spread the idea (devotion?) to Divine Mercy. Despite of the Republic authority’s
anti-religious disposition, they tolerated in the beginning the pastoral activity of the priests.
But gradually, they began to limit their work; permission to catechize youth and children became more difficult. Fr. Sopocko organized course on catechesis by St. John’s Church. He would give teachings on catechesis and pedagogy, which were attended by many people. This was done
in secret, but information about these meetings reached the authority. The Commissioners summoned Fr. Sopocko and he was faced with real danger of arrest including the threat of exile
to the East.

In July 1947, together with these events, Fr. Sopocko, by providence, received a call from Archbishop Jalbrzykowski , who was staying in Bialystok at the time, to come and work in that part of archdiocese. He decided to leave Vilnius immediately, especially that the time of repatriation
of People’s Poland was coming to the end. Fr. Sopocko went to the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy
in "Ostra Brama" (Sharp Gate) with the hope that parting from Vilnius would be brief. He left for Bialystok at the end of August 1947, which was the last transport of Polish people to Poland through Kowno and East Prussia. On September 8, the train crossed the border of Polish People’s Republic and Fr. Sopocko reached Bialystok.

FORWARD >> Fr. M. Sopocko Biography part III

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