Marian Helper • Fall 2025 • Marian.org 23 Thirty miles due north of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, close to the Vermont border, is a spiritual treasure and a vital piece of the history of the Marian Fathers in the United States. Without St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Adams, Massachusetts, there may well not be a St. Faustina Kowalska. We might not have her Diary, either in Polish or in translation. In fact, the Marian Fathers may not have come to Stockbridge at all, or created the Association of Marian Helpers as we know it today. The Marian connection Why? From St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish came some of the most consequential priestly and religious vocations of the last 150 years — or indeed, if we take seriously Jesus’ revelation to St. Faustina that she would prepare the world for His Second Coming (see Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 429, 635, 1732), we may say that St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish gave the Church and the world some of the most consequential priestly and religious vocations of all time. Father Walter Pelczynski, MIC (1916-2000), originally a parishioner at St. Stanislaus Kostka, would grow up to enter the Marian Fathers and oversee the purchase of Eden Hill for the Congregation, the site that would become the home of the Association of Marian Helpers and the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy (in what was then, prior to 2006, called the St. Stanislaus Kostka Province). Father Seraphim Michalenko, MIC (1930-2021), also originally a parishioner at St. Stanislaus Kostka, would grow up to enter the Marian Fathers and become the vice-postulator for the cause for canonization of St. Faustina in North America. He would smuggle the microfilm of the Diary out of Poland right under the noses of the Communist authorities and oversee its proper transcription, transliteration, and translation before publishing it and spreading it worldwide. All this forms part of the legacy of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, where the first Divine Mercy Image to be publicly displayed in the Western hemisphere was hung. Dubbed “The Gem of the Berkshires,” its stunning interior artistry features resplendent wall and ceiling paintings, extensive statuary, and magnificent stained-glass windows. The parish in Adams has poured out immense spiritual treasures on the world. Now, the parish has embarked on a restoration campaign. Restoration work “St. Stan’s needs periodic maintenance to keep everything in good repair,” the parish explains on their website. “Long years of Berkshire wind, rain, and snow have loosened roof slates, snapped snow guards, clogged gutters, and deteriorated steeple ornaments. Most recently, water leakage has led to mold growth in the church basement (Kolbe Hall). A church as uniquely beautiful and historically significant as St. Stan’s cannot be allowed to deteriorate.” Visit SSKPreservation.org to learn more. Spiritual treasure By Chris Sparks Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Adams, Mass.
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