St. Faustina’s original Divine Mercy image draws faithful to cathedral

(Photos by Beth Donze, Clarion Herald; view additional images on the Clarion Herald's Facebook page)

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

In 1934, St. Faustina Kowalska stood behind Polish artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski to provide detailed instructions so that he could accurately paint the “Divine Mercy” image of Christ she had seen in her many visions.

When the painting fell out of sight due to war and political conflict, but with worldwide interest in St. Faustina’s revelations about Divine Mercy continuing to flourish, other artists would modify Kazimirowski’s original image – the one of Jesus guided by St. Faustina herself – to suit their own interpretations and style.

On April 3, visitors to St. Louis Cathedral got the rare opportunity to view an exact replica of Kazimirowski’s original Divine Mercy portrait during the first night of a two-day stop in New Orleans.The program, a free event sponsored by the Original Divine Mercy Institute, will be repeated in its entirety tonight at 7 p.m.

Both nights feature the same offerings: a presentation on the original painting’s history and significance by Daniel diSilva, the world’s leading authority on St. Faustina’s Divine Mercy image; and a concert of sacred music presented by a quintet of singers from Vilnius, Lithuania, the city in which the original image of Jesus was painted and where Kazimirowski’s painting is now safely displayed for visiting pilgrims.

“The life’s work of St. Faustina was this painting,” said diSilva, noting that the nun had “80-something visions of Jesus” while living in Vilnius.

diSilva, a scholar of the diaries in which St. Faustina recorded her visions, cited numerous subtle and not-so-subtle differences between Kazimirowski’s original painting of Divine Mercy and subsequent renderings:

• diSilva said artists in later portrayals often present the figure of Christ as standing on some sort of floor. But in the original painting, “nothing supports the creator of the cosmos – nothing was needed to hold Jesus up, so there is no floor,” he told the cathedral audience.

• The original Divine Mercy painting depicts intermingling rays of pearly white and red, colors that denote water and the blood of Christ, respectively. Later Divine Mercy artists tended to use blue and pink to render their rays, and the rays themselves “don’t intermingle,” diSilva noted.

• St. Faustina’s vision was of Christ garbed as a priest who is about to celebrate Mass – a role signified in the original painting by dressing Jesus in an alb and cincture. Later Divine Mercy renderings depict Christ wearing a sash, an item of clothing a priest would never wear, diSilva said. A sash was added in the later Divine Mercy portraits, diSilva believes, because artistic depictions of Mary and Jesus commonly show them wearing one.

• St. Faustina’s vision of “Christ the Priest” is also borne out in the placement of Jesus’ hands in the original painting – they are at chest level, in the act of blessing. “A priest is taught to never raise his hands above his shoulders,” diSilva explained, noting that some later Divine Mercy depictions make the mistake of unnaturally elevating Christ’s hands. So, the painting guided by St. Faustina’s visions depicts a much more accessible Jesus who “wants to call us to himself,” diSilva said.

• Features in the original Divine Mercy painting reveal that St. Faustina was instructed to present God as the three persons of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, made known through the dots of light on Jesus’ head – suggesting the bestowal of of God’s mercy from above; God the Son, depicted in the central figure of Jesus; and God the Holy Spirit, represented by the light emanating from Christ’s chest.

• diSilva said St. Faustina also reserved space in her image of Christ for a “fourth person”: God’s children – the recipients of Divine Mercy. Holes in the rays at the base of the painting suggest that God is calling us “the fourth member of the Trinity,” diSilva said.

“You are called to be one with Jesus as he is one with the Father,” he said. “Let Jesus paint you to look like him. Make your lives a masterpiece – a work of art – that reveals the mercy of God!”

Enveloped in artistry, spirituality

Program attendees Wade and Charlene Walk of St. Pius X Church in New Orleans said they came to the cathedral for two main reasons: to learn more about St. Faustina’s story and divine revelations; and to hear the stirring, a cappella harmonies of the visiting singers from Lithuania, who sang nearly a dozen hymns by candlelight as monologues about St. Faustina’s life were delivered.

“It’s a combination of art, music and the spiritual aspect, all in one, plus you learn the story of St. Faustina – you get that whole experience when you come,” Charlene said.

Wade Walk was intrigued by deSilva’s explanation of the gaps in the rays that appear in the original Divine Mercy image.

“The rays are interrupted (in the foreground of the painting) because St. Faustina herself was receiving some of those rays. The rays didn’t extend all the way to the ground because she was underneath them, absorbing them,” he said.

“There’s a hole in the rays so that everyone can experience the painting and experience the rays of Christ and the mercy of God,” Charlene added. “(The painting) is supposed to extend to infinity, so it shows that God’s mercy is going out to everyone! There’s a hole for you and for me and for everyone!”

All are welcome to attend tonight’s final talk and concert at St. Louis Cathedral, 615 Pére Antoine Alley. There is no cost to attend, and registration is not required.

Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated on the Sunday after Easter, will be observed April 7. The archdiocesan celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday will take place at St. Joseph Church, 1802 Tulane Ave., in New Orleans, beginning with the sacrament of reconciliation at 1 p.m.; eucharistic adoration and a rosary at 1:30 p.m.; the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 2:20 p.m.; and Mass at 3 p.m. There is ample parking in the church parking lot.

[email protected]