140 Him. He was joined in this effort by several Marians from the Washington House especially Fr. Joseph Łuniewski, MIC and Br. Walter Pełczyński, MIC. Slowly, this apostolic work which was initiated by Fr. Joseph Jarzębowski, MIC grew and developed in the American Province of St. Stanislaus Kostka and it became its major apostolic endeavor. Fr. Julian Chróściechowski, MIC, who joined the Marians and its work of promotion several years later, had similar experiences of the extraordinary protection and guidance of The Divine Mercy. Arrested for being a judge and detained in the infamous Pawiak prison in Warsaw, he was able to escape against all odds with a Divine Mercy Image which he held in his hand, having placed himself under the protection of The Divine Mercy. Stories of such wondrous deeds began to spread as more people witnessed the power of God’s Mercy when they placed their trust in Him. The need for the extraordinary message of hope and trust in God’s Mercy increased among families waiting for their members’ safe return from the Second World War. In 1944, the Marians in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, under the direction of Fr. Walter Pełczyński, MIC, established a center with the appropriate name The Mercy of God Apostolate for the promotion of this consoling message primarily through the printed media. With the formation of the Association of Marian Helpers in 1944 and the establishment of the new Province of St. Stanislaus Kostka in 1948, the Marians began a very fruitful apostolate. It continued unabated until November 1958, when the Holy Offi ce issued a “Notifi cation” forbidding the spreading of The Divine Mercy message in the forms proposed by Sister Faustina Kowalska. [Acta Apostolicae Sedes published the document in March 1959.] (For a more comprehensive summary of the growth of the devotion to Divine Mercy in America and throughout the world in the years 1941-1958, and on the Holy See’s March 1959 Notifi cation banning the promotion of The Divine Mercy in the forms proposed by Sister Faustina, confer Fr. Julian [Chróściechowski]’s Book: Devotion to Divine Mercy in Our Day: A Historical and Critical Study, Chapters 9, 10 and 11). The Marians, faithful to the Holy See, stopped promoting the Divine Mercy devotion in the forms proposed by Sister Faustina. They changed the name of the apostolate to the “Marian Apostolate,” and began to promote literature dedicated to Mary and to the Mercy of God according to Sacred Scripture and Catholic Tradition. Some more important publications during this period were: Fr. Michael Sopoćko’s books: 1. The Mercy of God in His Works (four volumes in Polish and English); 2. God is Mercy: Meditations on God’s Most Consoling Attribute.
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