Walk into any Catholic church today, and there is a good chance you will find a painted image of Jesus with the inscription below, “Jesus I Trust in You.”
Walk into historic Holy Rosary Church in Baltimore, MD – the Shrine of Divine Mercy and site of the miraculous healing which led to Saint Faustina’s canonization – and it is not just the image that greets you. Inside, the relics of St. Faustina, St. John Paul II, and Blessed Fr. Michael Sopocko eagerly await you.
On this year’s Solemnity of Divine Mercy Sunday, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore made a pilgrimage to celebrate Mass at this historic Polish church. It was a sight to behold.
The beautiful entrance procession, led by the parish’s Knights of Columbus council, made its way through the crowded church.
Fr. Ako Walker, C.Ss. R. concelebrated the Mass while Fr. Janusz Sok, C.Ss.R., heard the confessions of a seemingly endless line of penitents.
At 3:00 pm, the Hour of Mercy, the congregation prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet while the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and carried through the church. Leading the Eucharistic Procession was the “Friends of John Paul II Foundation” banner, accompanied by the scented smoke of incense and the rising melody of Polish hymns filling the church. Moved to tears, one parishioner said he could feel the Holy Spirit at this Mass, to which the Archbishop responded, “Me too!”
Outside, Archbishop Lori expressed his gratitude and praised the Friends of John Paul II Foundation for preserving the memory and heritage of the great saint. The Archbishop shared his personal story of being ordained to the episcopacy by Pope John Paul II. Continuing the joyful celebration after Mass, crowds gathered in the Church Hall for delicious, traditional Polish food and fellowship.
Among the international crowd gathered that day was a strong Polish representation. The Polish-American parishioners hosting the event, the “Apostolat Przyjaciol Milosierdzia Bozego” (Friends of the Divine Mercy), the “Wislanie” and “Ojczyzna” folk dance ensembles, the Polish Heritage Association of Maryland, the Friends of John Paul II Foundation, and others came together to ensure the Solemnity had an appropriately Polish character.
Pope Saint John Paul II saw the message of Divine Mercy as the special task which God had entrusted to him for our time. Young Karol Wojtyla first learned about the mystic, Sister Faustina, during the war while working at the Solvay rock quarry right next door to Sister Faustina’s convent in Lagiewniki and studying for the priesthood in secret.
Deeply moved by the message, Pope Saint John Paul II chose to canonize Sister Faustina in 2000 as the first saint of the new millennium; an act, as he said in his homily, by which he intended to pass on the message of Divine Mercy to the third millennium.
Twenty-six years later, this Divine Mercy Sunday celebration in Baltimore, MD, was a magnificent witness to the fact that the Divine Mercy message is alive and desired more than ever.
Not everyone may get the chance to visit Saint Faustina’s convent in Krakow-Lagiewniki. Still, we can make a pilgrimage to Holy Rosary Church, the Archdiocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy, to visit the site of the miracle which led to her canonization. On that special day – the very first Divine Mercy Sunday – Pope Saint John Paul II remarked, “Today is the happiest day of my life.”
By Sylvia J. Korzan
Friends of John Paul II Foundation, Metropolitan area of Washington, DC
April 14, 2026