St. Faustina Kowalska (St. Maria Faustina)

St. Faustina Kowalska was a Polish nun famous for her mystical experiences with Jesus Christ during which He revealed to her that she should spread devotion to the attribute of His Divine Mercy. He commissioned her to write down her private revelation in a Diary (simply called the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska) and have an image painted of Himself with rays of red and white pouring from his heart underneath which should be written, "Jesus I Trust in You". According to the diary, Jesus said to her, "The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the water that makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls." He also made promises to those who would venerate the image: "I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as my own glory." St. Faustina died immediately one year prior to the Nazi occupation of Poland. By then the devotion to the Divine Mercy had already started to spread. St. Faustina was declared the first saint of the 21st century in April 2000. Most associated with her are her Diary, the Divine Mercy image, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which is a prayer taught to her by Jesus and prayed on the rosary beads with many attached graces for the conversion of sinners. Her feast day is October 5.