By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Fr. Michael Sopocko, the spiritual director of the woman who brought the message of Divine Mercy to the world, St. Faustina Kowalska, was beatified on Sept. 28 at a ceremony in Bialystok, Poland by Archbishop Angelo Amato, the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Father Sopocko (1888-1975) was the principal promoter of the revelations on Divine Mercy received by St. Faustina. During her stay in Vilnius (Lithuania) in the years 1933-1936, he was an invaluable aid to her in discerning the interior inspirations and visions she was recieving from the Lord. It was at his advice that she began to write her famous Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul.
In one entry written in 1929, she wrote:”Father Sopocko must be well loved by God. I say this because I myself have experienced how much God defends him at certain moments. When I see this, I rejoice greatly that God has such chosen ones.”
In several entries, the Lord Himself praised the humble priest. “He is a priest after My own Heart . . .Through him it pleases Me to proclaim the worship of My mercy.” (Diary, 1256)
“His thought is closely united with Mine, so be at peace about what concerns My work. I will not let him make a mistake, and you should do nothing without his permission.” (Diary, 1408)
Fr. Michael Sopocko was born in Nowosady, near Vilnius and studied theology at the University of Vilnius between the years of 1910 and 1914. He went on to obtain a doctorate in moral theology in 1926 and became the spiritual director for the seminary in Vilnius. Between 1918 and 1932 he served as a chaplain in the Polish Army in Warsaw and Vilnius.
Fr. Sopocko was a devoted apostle to the message of Divine Mercy his entire life and it was he who laid down a theological basis for this new form of devotion. He composed prayers to the Divine Mercy based on St. Faustina’s Diary and stayed in contact with her until her death. Afterward, he took it upon himself to complete the tasks given to her in her apparitions.
He died in 1975 at the age of 87 and was buried in the parish cemetery in Bia?ystok. His cause for beatification was opened in 1988.
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Prayer for obtaining graces through the intercession of Blessed Fr. Michael Sopocko:
“Oh Merciful God, you have made your servant Fr. Sopocko, the apostle of your endless Mercy and the worshipper of Our Lady, the Mother of Mercy. Grant, through his intercession, that by praising your Mercy and arousing trust in your fatherly goodness, I will obtain the grace of ( ……..) I ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen. (Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and a Glory Be) Source: The Congregation of the Sisters of Merciful Jesus
