The devotion to Jesus as the Divine Mercy is based on the writings of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a simply educated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages containing God’s loving message of Divine Mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to the Divine Mercy had begun to spread.

Though the Divine Mercy message is not new to the teaching of the Church, Sr. Faustina’s Diary sparked a great movement, and a strong and significant focus on the mercy of Christ. Pope John Paul II canonized Sr. Faustina in 2000, making her “the first saint of the new millenium.” He called her “the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time.” Today, we continue to trust in Jesus’ endless mercy, and to live life mercifully toward others.

Pope Francis declared 2016 a “Year of Mercy”. Throughout the Catholic Church, and Cross in the Woods was designated as one of its pilgrimage churches. The endless flow of pilgrims that year, to pray the plenary indulgence prayers before the framed image of the Divine Mercy, encouraged Cross in the Woods to create this inspiring shrine in 2017, where that devotion can be perpetuated.