FR. MICHAEL SOPOCKO Biography - Congregation of Sisters of Merciful Jesus

THE SERVANT OF GOD, FR. MICHAEL SOPOCKO
(1888-1975)
A biography based on the book,
THE SERVANT OF GOD, FR. MICHAEL SOPOCKO
by Father Henry Ciereszko

Part III

PROFESSOR OF THE ARCHDIOCESAN SEMINARY IN BIALYSTOK
FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF SISTERS OF MERCIFUL JESUS

Upon his arrival in Bialystok, Fr. Sopocko reported to Archbishop Jalbrzykowski in order
to be commissioned for his new appointment. At the end of September, he went to Mysliborz
for few days, where Hedwig Osinska and Isabel Naborowska (the first mothers of the Congregation founded by Fr. Sopocko) were organizing the beginnings of religious life in community. This was his first meeting with the sisters since they had left Vilnius. From that time he had kept in constant touch with the sisters, giving them advice and spiritual support, and keeping watch over
the development of the Congregation of which he was founder (see The Shrine).

In October classes began in the seminary. Fr. Sopocko taught the same subjects he had taught
in Vilnius: Catechesis, Pedagogy, Psychology, and the History of Philosophy. The activities
and presence of Fr. Sopocko in the seminary were not limited to teaching. He was confessor
of the seminarians, as he had been in Vilnius. Many times the spiritual director asked him to lead retreats for the seminarians. Alongside his work in the seminary, he also carried out pastoral,
social and educational work. An important part of his activities was his work for abstinence among the general public.

The work he was most involved in, and which was the dearest to him, was the matter of the devotion to the Divine Mercy. He was very devoted and faithful to it to the very end. He did not
get discouraged by the opposition of Church authorities in approving the devotion, an opposition caused by inconsistencies in the spontaneous, grass-roots spreading of the devotion and also because publications were not always accuratly presenting the idea of Divine Mercy.
Fr. Sopocko tirelessly corrected these errors and explained the theological bases of the devotion.

Similiarly as in Vilnius, so too in Bialystok, Fr. Sopocko was the confessor of religious sisters.
He heard the confessions of sisters from the Congregation of Missionaries of the Holy Family,
who had a house on Poleska Street, among other sisters. Going to their house on Poleska for spiritual ministry, Fr. Sopocko noticed the possibility for spreading the mercy devotion among
the local residents.
Thanks to Fr. Sopocko's efforts a chapel under the patronage of the Holy Family was consecrated on 27 November 1957, on the Solemnity of Christ the King. In this way, a pastoral center was created for the local residents. Fr. Sopocko lived in that building after retirement, taking part in pastoral ministry till the end of his life. (Presently a room containing his personal effects can be found there as well as a religious house of the Congregation he founded, the Sisters of Merciful Jesus) (see Sopocko).

Towards the end of the fifties, Fr. Sopocko took on one more initiative, that of building a church
in Bialystok. This led to the purchase of a plot of land with a house on it, half of the cost of which he himself covered with his savings. With this church project, Fr. Sopocko was still trying to connect his plans from Vilnius to build a church under the patronage of the Divine Mercy.
However, this time as well, he was forced to resign himself to the failure of this project.

In 1958, while giving a retreat to priests, Fr. Sopocko suffered damage to a facial nerve.
From this time on, speaking aloud to large audiences cost him great strength. In addition to this,
in February 1962 he was involved in a car accident in Zakopane while taking part in a meeting
of theology professors, and this also had an adverse effect on his health. In this state, it became necessary for him to go into retirement.

Sudden retirement caught Fr. Sopocko off guard. He had always been active and involved
in numerous works and duties, and for the first time (excluding his time in hiding in Czarny Bor)
he had unlimited time at his disposal. He fulfilled his priestly duties in the Chapel on Poleska Street, and took up the work of finishing the treatises on idea of Mercy he had begun earlier.
When the atmosphere surrounding the Divine Mercy soon began to change, he devoted himself
to it with renewed fervor. The priestly character of Fr. Sopocko, his spiritual formation
and authority stemming from his remarkable life experiences, as well as his great modesty,
all served to draw the faithful toward him.

Having more time, Fr. Sopocko took up research to broaden the idea of Divine Mercy. He had
a large amount of collected material, some studies he had already begun, as well as some new ideas. He diligently launched into writing. As a result, he completed several works, one after
the other, with a four-volume work, "The Mercy of God in His Works," taking the lead (see Excerpts). The first volume was published in London already in 1959, and the next three volumes were published in the 1960's in Paris, due to the generosity of people devoted to the Divine Mercy
who were living in the West. This work was also translated into English.

The constant development of the devotion to the Divine Mercy and interest arising from many theologians were important occurrences that boosted Fr. Sopocko's commitment. Another significant incentive encouraging him to mission work for the cause of the Divine Mercy was
the opening of the Informative Process relating to sister Faustina Kowalska by Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow in 1965. Fr. Sopocko was involved in this process and testified as a witness.
Father Sopocko lived to celebrate beautiful jubilees of 50 and 60 years of priestly service.

The most edifying part of these celebrations was the speeches of the jubilee celebrant himself. Nearing the end of his priestly life, worn out by age and difficulties of life, as well as painful inner trials, in the shortest of the speeches given on that day, he expressed, first of all, his deep gratitude
to God for the gift of the priesthood, and then, with great humility, he stated that in his long priestly life, he was not always faithful to the duties entrusted to him, and for that he desired to sincerely apologize to God and to ask all those gathered for prayer that the Merciful God would forgive
him of his unfaithfulness.

This celebration, according to the feelings and judgments of many participants, was a much belated moral reward and recompense for the venerable priest who had merited so much
for the cause of God, especially for having spread the idea of Divine Mercy.
The one sign of recognition for the manifold meritorious works he did for the Church and the Archdiocese was his being named honorary Canon of the Chapter of the Metropolitan Basilica, though this was not until 1972, already at the waning of his life.

His whole life, Fr. Sopocko was a man of action, action based on a strong spiritual foundation. When his physical ability deteriorated due to illnesses, and ailments struck, the spiritual domain became the place of his commitment to and service of the things of God.
Some quotes left in his diary give testimony that this is actually how he understood his last service:

"Old age should be treated as a vocation to greater love of God and neighbor.
God has new plans regarding the elderly,
plans for deepening the human being by revealing to him, face to face, his inner life.
The only effective action that we are capable of is prayer.
In this active passivity everything prepares us,
everything counts, everything works for our gain.
Heaven will be praying the "OUR FATHER."

He died in his room on Poleska Street on 15 February 1975. It was a Saturday evening,
the Commemoration of St. Faustin, the patron saint of Sister Faustina Kowalska

The priests and the faithful remembered the deceased, Fr. Sopocko, as a priest fully devoted
to the service of Divine Mercy. Soon after, there was the desire that his luminous personality should be distinguished in an extra special way, to bring greater glory to God and for the higher good
of the faithful. In the Diary of St. Faustina, the promise of the Lord Jesus is written regarding
her spiritual director, Father Michael Sopocko:

"There will be as many crowns to form his crown, as there will be souls saved by this work.
It is not for the success of a work, but for the suffering that I give reward" (Diary, 90).

Beatification celebration of God’s servant, Frather Michael Sopocko,
the confessor of sister Faustyna Kowalska, and founder of Congregation of Sister of Merciful Jesus,
will be hold on 28 September 2008 in the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Bialystok
(70 years after death of the Saint sister Faustyna)