Shrine of St Faustina of the Divine Mercy
By the Pope's decree of 1927 the Gate of Dawn Madonna picture, which
was called the Image of the Holy Mother of Mercy, was crowned with
papal crowns. The coronation ceremony was celebrated with the highest
sacred and national importance - the golden crowns were put on by the
One of the reasons this image of the Mother of Mercy is so important is
because this Image came alive to St. Faustina and Mary spoke to St.
Faustina and encouraged her to continue to fulfill the holy Will of her son.
This image is displayed in an archway known in Vilnius as the "Gates of
On the evening of the last day [November 15, 1935] of the Novena at Ostra Brama, after the
singing of the litany, one of the priests exposed the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance.
When he placed it on the altar, I immediately saw the Infant Jesus, stretching out His little
arms, first of all toward His Mother, who at that time had taken on a living appearance.
When the Mother of God was speaking to me, Jesus stretched out His tiny hands toward the
The Blessed Mother was telling me to accept all that God asked of me like a little child,
without questioning; otherwise it would not be pleasing to God. At that moment, the Infant
Jesus vanished, and the Mother of God was again lifeless, and Her picture was the same as it
had been before. But my soul was filled with great joy and gladness, and I said to the Lord,
"Do with me as You please; I am ready for everything, but You, O Lord, must not abandon
me even for a moment." (Diary 529)
Holy Mother of Mercy
In the 16th Century, a large wall was built
around the city of Vilnius, Poland to
protect them from their enemies. The
Gates of Dawn was the most dangerous
part of this wall and they put an Image of
the Mother of Mercy in the archway of this
wall for protection. The history of Vilnius
records that this section of the wall has
gone unharmed in spite of all the various
wars and battles that have taken place in
The Mother of Mercy Image has also
become known for its miraculous power
and there is a long history of people in
Vilnius publicly declaring that they were
healing while praying to the image of the
Mother of Mercy. In 1993, Pope John Paul
II visited this shrine and prayed the
It was in April 1935 in the Holy Mother of Mercy Chapel where the image of The Divine
Mercy was first made available for public veneration. It was at the end of a Jubilee year,
and Jesus commanded Sr Faustina to have this ceremony done on the Sunday after
Easter; the first "Divine Mercy Sunday." Father Sopocko presented a homily about The
Divine Mercy. "When he began to speak (Father Sopocko) about the great mercy of Our
Lord, the image came alive and the rays pierced the hearts of the people gathered there…
" (Diary, 417).
"Toward the end of the service, when the priest took the Blessed Sacrament to bless the
people, I saw Our Lord Jesus as He is represented in the image. Our Lord gave His
blessing, and the rays extended over the whole world" (Diary, 420).
After the Rosary:
HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, Mother of Mercy, our
life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee
do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of
tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after
this our exile, show unto us the blessed
fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O
loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the
promises of Christ.
Let us pray. O GOD, whose only begotten
Son, by His life, death, and resurrection,
has purchased for us the rewards of
eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that
meditating upon these mysteries of the
Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, we may imitate what they contain
and obtain what they promise, through the
same Christ Our Lord. Amen.