"Jesus, I trust in you" Feast Day: 5 October

Faustina Kowalska was a Polish Sister of Our Lady of Mercy. Jesus asked her to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasising God's plan of mercy for the world. She died at 33, yet her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, is a modern spiritual classic, carrying a magnificent message for WYD08 pilgrims. She was the first canonised saint of the third millennium!

St Faustina was born Helena Kowalska in Glogowiec, Poland on 25 August, 1905. She was the third of ten children born to Marianna and Stanislaw Kowalski. Faustina was only able to attend three years of elementary school, and left home at the age of 15 to become a domestic helper to support her family.

Faustina first felt the call to the cloister at the age of seven. When she was 18, she asked her parents whether she could become a nun, and when she was refused, she took that as a sign that she ought not to fulfil that vocation. However, God persisted. One day, at a dance, Faustina was met with a vision of our Lord, suffering, saying, 'How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting Me off'?

From then on, she was able to hear God's voice quite clearly - and in this instance, God told her to go to Warsaw and enter a convent there. She was turned away from many of the convents, which tested and tried her patience. Finally, however, she was accepted into the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy.

From the age of 20 onwards, Faustina worked as a cook, gardener and doorkeeper at the convent. While her life in many ways was ordinary, she spoke closely with Our Lord and Our Lady, and recorded these conversations with them in her diaries, which were only published after her death.

She faced spiritual and physical struggles. Her spiritual struggles not only consisted of serious doubts about her vocation, but also intense spiritual torment in terms of her faith. From these, however, she was able to grow in her trust in God, as well as in her love for Our Lady.

When she was 31, she contracted tuberculosis. She was unable to fight the disease, however, with her great courage and trust in God, she was able to use her illness to make sacrifices for others who were unaware or unable to do so for themselves.

She died on 5 October, 1938. Her mission had accorded with the name of her convent - that is, she had been called to tell others of the great mercy and love that God has for us.

St Faustina's life shows WYD08 pilgrims how to exercise the Spirit's gift of knowledge, faithfully placing the message of Divine Mercy at the service of all humanity. WYD08 pilgrims can ask her for the grace to be able to pray sincerely the words 'Jesus I Trust in You' You may specifically pray to know that Jesus' forgiveness will free you from the burden of your sins and guilt, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Saint Faustina, witness to God's mercy and compassion - pray for us