The First Painting of the Divine Mercy

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In 1934, in Vilnius, Father Sopocko entrusted painting of the image of Merciful Jesus to artist painter Eugeniusz Kazimirowski who resided in the same building. Since then, Sister Faustina visited the painter’s studio to give some instructions and tell the artist about details of the image. Father Sopocko did his best to make the image painted precisely following her instructions. He adjusted the canvas on which he asked the image of Merciful Jesus to be painted, to the size of the old frame donated earlier by one of parishioners. When the painting was ready to be displayed in June of 1934, he requested sister Faustina to ask the Lord Jesus about how to inscribe it: "Once, my confessor (Father Sopocko) asked me where the inscription should be placed, because there was not enough space in the picture for everything. I answered, "I will pray and give you an answer next week. When I left the confessional and was passing before the Blessed Sacrament, I received an inner understanding about the inscription. Jesus reminded me of what He had told me the first time, namely, that these words must be clearly in evidence: Jesus, I trust in You" (Diary, 327). "Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You" (Diary, 47). "I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You" (Diary, 327). Having received the answer, Father Sopocko put the inscription, constituting a significant element of this picture, in the frame under the painting. Then on April 4, 1937, at Lord Jesus’ explicit request expressed by sister Faustina, Father Sopocko hung the picture at Saint Michael Church in Vilnius where he was a rector.