12 Marian Helper • Spring 2026 • Marian.org Editor’s note: Ninety-five years ago, on Feb. 22, 1931, Jesus first appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska in her convent cell in Płock, Poland and told her, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 47). Her priest-confessor, Bl. Michael Sopoćko, commissioned the artist Eugene Kazimirowski to paint the image under St. Faustina’s direction. That work of art is now known as the original Vilnius Image. The Spring 1958 edition of Marian Helpers Bulletin published an article by Bl. Michael, “The Picture of the Merciful Christ,” describing the Image of the “Most Merciful Savior.” This was 42 years before the canonization of St. Faustina and the institution of Divine Mercy Sunday as a universal feast for the Catholic Church. We reprint it here to mark the 95th anniversary of the Image, and to honor Bl. Michael on his feast day, Feb. 15. By Blessed Fr. Michael Sopoćko ‘The Picture of the Merciful Christ’ Divine Mercy at 95
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