Sister Faustina Kowalska: Her LIfe and MIssion

We should spend a little tim e to ge t acquainted with F a the r Sopocko, for it was he of all the confessors of S ister F au s tin a who accepted th e request of Je su s as a personal charge, and he was to do so with such seriousness th a t , when he had become engaged in it, he devoted all his energy, education and pastoral opportunities, and even his money, to th is end. Every­ th ing he had , or could use, was consecrated to the mission given by th e Lord through the medium of S ister Faus tina , and he was ne ithe r discouraged by the difficulties which seemed to pile up before him , nor by th e uncharitab le tre a tm e n t or contempt which was frequently to be h is fate. He pers is ten tly and thorough­ ly p repared the theological basis of th e new devotion, a t the same time introduc ing i t gradually through pastora l practice. He was a highly educated m an with extensive pas to ra l experience. Born in th e a rea of Vilnius, he came into the world on 1st November 1888 in the ham le t of Nowosady in th e Oszminski d istrict. He completed h is studies a t th e Sem inary in Vilnius and was ordained in 1914. His vocation drew him no t only to pas to ra l work b u t also towards teaching and scholarship. As he was energetic and with a g rea t deal of initiative, he unde r­ took various kinds of work as th e need arose from wha tever he encountered, and , in everything he did, he achieved above average results. The F ir s t World War took him from his pastoral duties du ring his f irs t years as a priest, and he found h im se lf in Warsaw. At once he applied to study theo­ logy a t the University of Warsaw , b u t as the m ilitary situation grew more th rea ten ing , he broke off his studies and joined the Polish army as a m ilitary chaplain. He took p a r t in action on th e sou th-eastern front. Unfortunately, typhus fever confined him to a hospital for some time, On h is recovery, he re tu rn ed to Warsaw, and there, combining du ties as an army chaplain with the un iversity stud ies th a t the w ar had 149