Blessed Michal Sopocko
Profile
Michal began his studies at the seminary in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1910, and was ordained a priest in 1914. Parish priest in Vilnius, and military chaplain in World War I from 1914 to 1918, assigned to Vilnius and to Warsaw, Poland. He earned his doctorate in theology in 1926. Spiritual director of the seminary in Vilnius. Professor of pastoral theology at Stefan Batory University in Vilnius in 1928. Beginning in mid-1933, he became the spiritual director and confessor of Saint Faustina Kowalska. He arranged for Eugeniusz Kazimirowski to paint the Divine Mercy image in 1934, in 1935 began preaching on the Divine Mercy, and in 1936 wrote the first booklet about it. From 1942 to 1944, Father Michal was one of many who went into hiding to avoid the occupying Nazi forces. Founded the Zgromadzenie Sióstr Jezusa Milosiernego (Sisters of Merciful Jesus) based on the Divine Mercy messages received by Saint Faustina. In 1959 the Vatican forbade the Divine Mercy devotion and censured Sopocko, but in 1965 Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Kraków, Poland (future Pope John Paul II) re-opened the investigation of the vision and messages which led to the reversal of the ban and censure in 1978. During the period of the re-investigation, Father Michael wrote the four-volume Milosierdzie Boga w dzielach Jego (Mercy of God in His works).
Born
- 1 November 1888 in Juszewszczyzna, Ashmyany, Poland
- 15 February 1975 in Bialystock, Poland of natural causes
- buried in Bialystock
- re-interred in the Church of Divine Mercy in Bialostoczek, Poland in 1988
- 20 December 2004 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtues)
- 28 September 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI
- beatification celebrated at the Square of the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Bialystok, Poland by Cardinal Angelo Amato
Readings
This priest is a great soul who is completely filled with God. – Saint Faustina Kowalska
Thanks to his effort a new light will shine in God’s Church for the salvation of souls. I have not met such faithfulness to God as this soul features. – Saint Faustina Kowalska
This soul, so humble, was able to withstand all storms and has not get discouraged with obstacles, but answered faithfully to God’s call. – Saint Faustina Kowalska
The decisive factor in obtaining God’s Mercy is trust. Trust is the expectation of someone’s help. It does not constitute a separate virtue, but is an essential condition of the virtue of hope, and an integral part of the virtues of fortitude and generosity. Because trust springs from faith, it strengthens hope and love, and is, moreover, linked up, in one way or another, with the moral virtues. It may, therefore, be called the basis on which the theological virtues unite with the moral. The moral virtues, originally natural, become supernatural if we practice them with trust in God’s help. – Blessed Michal Sopocko
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Michal Sopocko“. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 February 2019. Web. 21 August 2019. <>