The history of bringing the First Class Relic of Saint Sister Faustina to Saint Joseph Polish Church in Denver, Colorado, began after Mass, in the school cafeteria. It was May 2011.

A few people were talking about Relics of Saints and Divine Mercy. Some of us knew quite well Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow-Łagiewniki. Our Pastor, Fr.Marek, member of The Society of Christ Fathers, studied one year in the novitiate in Kiekrz near Poznan, Poland where once Saint Sister Faustina stayed for several months.

At this time the seed had been sown: let’s bring the Relic of Saint Faustina to our Parish!

To bring the Relic to the parish of St. Joseph, Fr.Marek obtained the consent and support of Archbishop Charles Chaput.

We began a spiritual preparation for the arrival of the Relic.

Representing our parish family Anna Głowacka and Barbara Wisniewska went to Poland at the end of August. They had letters: one from pastor of our parish and one from the Archbishop. On September 13, 2011, they met in the monastery of the Sisters of Divine Mercy with Sister Ignacja, who is the guardian of the Relic of Saint Faustina. After a conversation and the delivering of letters, we waited for a decision from the sisters if Saint Faustina may come to Denver, Colorado.

Soon the response came:

"Revered Pastor,

With joy I want to inform you of a positive consideration of your request to transfer the Relic of Saint Sister Faustina to the parish of St. Joseph church in Denver. The First Class Relic will be a bone of Saint Sister Faustina. By sharing this Divine gift we want spiritual presence of Saint Sister Faustina to be a living sign for your parish community. Let her expose for you the secrets of the Mercy of God and become a leader on the road to trust and mercy. Let her telling words of trust: “do not be afraid, trust in Jesus, be for others a witness of beauty and richness of His mercy love in the modern world through prayer, words and deeds.” So that this event will bring lasting fruit in the life of parishioners we ask for their spiritual preparation before a solemn day of the introduction of the Relic of Saint Sister Faustina. Let this event contribute to deeper devotion to the Divine Mercy, which would become a style of life of parishioners that Saint Sister Faustina left us as the example and to which Jesus himself invites us. Let therefore devotion to the Divine Mercy, which shall decide on the fate of the world and individuals constantly enlivened ministry in this parish, and the presence in the sign of the Relic of Saint Sister Faustina will be for you a source of joy and many graces, and will bring blessed spiritual fruits. With her intercession at the throne of God, Mercy shall assist the Pastor in the pastoral handling and obtain all needed graces to parishioners.

Pastor, thank you for inviting Saint Sister Faustina to the parish with Message of Mercy. We express joy at the initiative to form a prayer group in the parish of, whose members will take the mission of Saint Sister Faustina and her lifestyle in a spirit of trust and mercy. Also thank you for the concern about the security of the Relic in the church so that the faithful can have an encounter with Saint Sister Faustiną in the sign, and experience her invincible intercession with God rich in Mercy. We combine our best greetings for Pastor and the entire parish community and we assure you of our prayer in front of the painting of miraculous image of and the tomb of Saint Sister Faustina in the shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow.

s. Ignacja "

Spiritual preparation for receiving Saint Faustina went on in the parish and in our individual families.

On behalf of us all Jerzy Salamon went to Poland to the shrine of Divine Mercy and received the Relic of Saint Faustina from the hands of the sisters. Writes about it “The Denver Catholic Register.

October 29 and 30, 2011 were joyous days of welcoming in our parish community, new Parishioner: Saint Sister Faustina. A few pictures.

On the First Friday in November Joan and Dave Marooney, lay missionaries of Divine Mercy connected with the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA, with prayer and reflection presented the program: "Tell all the souls of My Mercy."

On the first Sunday of November the same missionaries returned to the Saint Joseph’s church, and after the Polish Mass talked to all the children and their parents about Saint Faustina and Divine Mercy in the program: “Divine Mercy for the young Hearts”. Some pictures.

Stanislaw Kaliszan made a wooden shelve and installed it near the statue of the Sacred Heart. The Relic of St.Faustina was moved over there.

Tomek i Beata Parol provided a glass case to protect our new parishioner, Saint Sister Faustina.

On Second Weekend of November at all our Masses we started Novena to Saint Sr.Faustina. We will continue with Novena for 9 months:

 NOVENA TO   SAINT  SISTER  FAUSTINA

 Day I:   The Knowledge of the Mystery of Divine Mercy

 Jesus:         Your life is to be modeled on Mine, from the crib to My death on the Cross. Penetrate My mysteries, and you will know the abyss of My mercy towards creatures and My unfathomable goodness - and this you shall make known to the world (Diary 438).

  Sr. F.:        O God, how I desire that souls come to know You and to see that You have created them because of Your unfathomable love; I feel that I am going to remove the veil of heaven so that the earth will no doubt Your goodness (Diary 483).            

  Saint Faustina, obtain for me the grace of penetrating more and more deeply into the mystery of God's mercy in the work of creation, salvation and glory so that, like you, I may make it known to the world.

Day II:   The Contemplation of Mercy in Everyday Life

Jesus:         When you reflect upon what I tell you in the depths of your heart, you profit more than if you had read many books. Oh, if souls would only want to listen to My voice when I am speaking in the depths of their hearts, they would reach the peak of holiness in a short time (Diary 584).

Sr. F.:         God, I look for no happiness beyond my own interior where You dwell. I rejoice that You dwell within me; here I abide with You unendingly; it is here that my greatest intimacy with You exists; here I dwell with You in safety; here is a place not probed by the human eye. The Blessed Virgin encourages me to commune with You in this way (cf. Diary 454).

Saint Faustina, teach me to abide with the Lord in my own soul, to listen to His voice and to experience with Him all the moments of my life. Obtain for me the grace of contemplating mercy in everyday life.

Day III:   The Attitude of Trust toward God

Jesus:         My daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should be the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in My mercy (Diary 742). I assure you of a permanent income on which you will live. Your duty will be to trust completely in My goodness, and My duty will be to give you all you need. I am making Myself dependent upon your trust: if your trust is great, then My generosity will be without limit (Diary 548).

Sr. F.:         God, One in the Holy Trinity, I want to love You as no human soul has ever loved You before; and although I am utterly miserable and small, I have nevertheless cast the anchor of my trust deep down into the abyss of Your mercy, O my God and Creator! In spite of my great misery I fear nothing, but hope to sing You a hymn of glory for ever (Diary 283).

Saint Faustina, obtain for me the grace of childlike trust so that I may always and in everything faithfully fulfill God's will, which is mercy itself for us.

Day IV:      The Attitude of Mercy toward neighbor

Jesus:         My daughter, (...) I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it. I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first - by deed, the second - by word, the third - by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy (Diary 742).

Sr. F.:         My Jesus, penetrate me through and through so that I might be able to reflect You in my whole life. Divinize me so that my deeds may have supernatural value. Grant that I may have love, compassion and mercy for every soul without exception. O my Jesus, each of Your saints reflects one of Your virtues; I desire to reflect Your com- passionate heart, full of mercy; I want to glorify it. Let Your mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and soul like a seal, and this will be my badge in this and the future life (Diary 1242).

Saint Faustina, intercede for me before the Lord so that my life, too, may be transformed into mercy exercised toward my neighbor by deed, word and prayer. May my eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, and heart be merciful.

Day V:       Proclaiming the Message of Mercy

Jesus:          In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy (Diary 1588).

Sr. F.:         O my God, let everything that is in me praise You, my Lord and Creator; and with every beat of my heart I want to praise Your unfathomable mercy. I want to tell souls of Your goodness and encourage them to trust in Your mercy. That is my mission, which You yourself have entrusted to me, O Lord, in this life and in the life to come (Diary 1325).

Following your example, Saint Faustina, I want to proclaim to the world the message of Mercy by the witness of my life and word so that it may reach all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope. May Jesus' promise be fulfilled in my life as well: Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire life as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior (Diary 1075).

Day VI:      Imploring God's Mercy for the World

Jesus:          My daughter, I have inclined My heart to your requests. Your assignment and duty here on earth is to beg for mercy for the whole world (Diary 570). You will join prayers, fasts, mortifications, labors and all sufferings to My prayer, fasting, mortification, labors and sufferings and then they will have power before My Father (Diary 531). I am making you the administrator of My mercy (Diary 570).

Sr. F.:         O my God, I am conscious of my mission in the Holy Church. It is my constant endeavor to plead for mercy for the world. I unite myself closely with Jesus and stand before Him as an atoning sacrifice on behalf of the world. God will refuse me nothing when I entreat Him with the voice of His Son. My sacrifice is nothing in itself, but when I join it to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, it becomes all-powerful and has the power to appease divine wrath. God loves us in His Son; the painful Passion of the Son of God constantly turns aside the wrath of God (Diary 482).

Together with you, Saint Faustina, I want to plead for mercy for the whole world, particularly for sinners as well as for priests and religious so that, living in the world, they may lead the people of God on the paths of salvation.

Day VII:   Love for the Church - the Mystical Body of Christ

Jesus:          My daughter, consider the life of God which is found in the Church for the salvation and the sanctification of your soul. Consider the use that you make of these treasures of grace, of these efforts of My love (Diary 1758).

Sr. F.:         Jesus, I am striving for sanctity, because in this way I shall be useful to the Church. I make constant efforts in practicing virtue. I try faithfully to follow Jesus. And I deposit this whole series of daily virtues - silent, hidden, almost imperceptible, but made with great love - in the treasury of God's Church for the common benefit of souls. I feel interiorly as if I were responsible for all souls. I know very well that I do not live for myself alone, but for the entire Church (Diary 1505).

Grateful for all the gifts of God's mercy available to me in the Church, I want to make use of them like you, Saint Faustina, in order to become a saint and so draw other souls to the founts of God's mercy.

Day VIII:   Meeting with Jesus in the Sacraments

Jesus:          Oh, how painful it is to Me that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls, and they are indifferent toward Me. I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they distrust Me. I want to lavish My graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat Me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy. In order that you may know at least some of My pain, imagine the most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children spurn her love. Consider her pain. No one is in position to console her. This is but a feeble image and likeness of My love (Diary 1447).

Sr. F.:         Jesus, there is one more secret in my life, the deepest and dearest to my heart: it is You yourself when You come to my heart under the appearance of bread. Herein lies the whole secret of my sanctity. Here my heart is so united with Yours as to be but one. There are no more secrets, because all that is Yours is mine, and all that is mine is Yours. Such is the omnipotence and the miracle of Your mercy (Diary 1489). All the good that is in me is due to Holy Communion. I owe everything to it. I feel that this holy fire has transformed me completely. Oh, how happy I am to be a dwelling place for You, O Lord! My heart is a temple in which you dwell continually (Diary 1392).

Saint Faustina, obtain for me the grace of living faith so that each sacrament be for me a privileged place of meeting with the Lord, and may the Eucharist be at the very centre of my entire life, transforming it into love.

Day IX:   Devotion to Our Lady

Jesus:          Your lives must be like Mine: quiet and hidden, in unceasing union with God, pleading for humanity and preparing the world for the second coming of God (Diary 625).

Sr. F.:         O sweet Mother of God, I model my life on You. You are for me the bright dawn; in You I lose myself enraptured. O Mother, Immaculate Virgin, in You the divine ray is reflected. Midst storms, it is You who teach me to love the Lord, O my shield and defense from the foe (Diary 1232).

Saint Faustina, most faithful daughter of the Mother of Mercy, hide me under Her mantle so that She may lead me to Jesus and teach me to participate in His life and mission of revealing to the world the mercy of the heavenly Father. Like Mary, I want to give Jesus - Mercy Incarnate - to people and prepare the world for His second coming.