Marian Helper Summer 2019

M arian H elper • S uMMer 2019 • Marian . org 33 W ith distinguished guests and journalists from around the world on hand, the Vatican played host on March 5, to the premiere of the feature-length film “Love and Mercy,” a docudrama o n St. Faustina a nd her Divine Mercy revelations. Following unexpected delays in distributorship, the film- maker says “Love and Mercy” will hit North American theaters this fall. “The idea for ‘Love and Mercy’ first came to me two years ago after read- ing the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska ,” said the director, Michael Kondrat, who filmed in his native Poland, at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, and other locations. “Divine Mercy is changing millions of lives,” he said, “but most Christians are still unaware of the power of the message that Jesus gave to humanity through Sr. Faustina, a simple Polish nun who is now a saint.” Upon entering the cinema hall, the invited guests were treated to a delightful dose of irony in the form of an old newspaper clipping first published 60 years ago on the front page of L’Osservatore Romano, copies of which were made available for the taking. The clipping, from March 7, 1959, contained a notice issued by the Holy Office that prohibited the promotion of the Divine Mercy devo- tion in the forms proposed by Sr. Faustina. The ban was lifted nearly 20 years later, following an investigation that authenticated Faustina’s mystical experiences and Divine Mercy writings. The Vatican screening, on the eve of the anniversary of the ban, stands as the latest triumph in the Divine Mercy movement since those cautionary measures were taken. In the years since the ban’s lifting, Divine Mercy has become the greatest grassroots movement in the his- tory of the Church. Also attending the screening were the starring actors, Kamila Kaminska and Maciej Malysa, who played the roles of Sr. Faustina and her confessor Fr. Michael Sopocko, respectively. Attendees also included the vicar general of the Mar- ian Fathers, the Very Rev. Fr. Joseph G. Roesch, MIC, who provided voiceovers in the film; and the provincial superior of the Marian Fathers’ United States province, the Very Rev. Fr. Kaz Chwalek, MIC, w ho appears in the film and served as an advisor to Mr. Kondrat. In opening remarks, Mr. Kondrat thanked Fr. Kaz for “substantive help and spiritual help” throughout the production of the film. Indeed, he said he experienced spiritual attacks, an indication that the project is an important work. After all, he said, his film centers on a saint “chosen by God to prepare the world for His final coming.” In “Love and Mercy,” filmed in English, he dramatizes key moments in St. Faustina’s life and the difficulties and triumphs that accompanied the spread of the message following her death in 1938. Featured scenes include the handing off of key Divine Mercy documents to a Mar- ian priest, Fr. Joseph Jarzebowski, MIC, w ho escaped to America to fulfill his promise to promote Divine Mercy. Interviews with present-day scholars and promoters of her message are interspersed among the dramatic portrayals. The film breaks new ground with discoveries of origi- nal writings from now-Blessed Sopocko. “When the film was over, I just uttered, ‘Wow!’” Joan Lewis, Rome bureau chief for EWTN, said following the screening. — Felix Carroll ‘Love and Mercy’ wows the Vatican Director Michael Kondrat at the Vatican premiere of “Love and Mercy.”