Blessed Michael Sopocko was a Polish priest best known as St. Faustina’s spiritual director and promoter of the message of Divine Mercy. In 1933, he became Sister Faustina’s confessor and commissioned the Divine Mercy image to be painted. In 1947 he formed the Congregation of Sisters of the Merciful Jesus. In 1959 the Divine Mercy message was suppressed by the Vatican due to incorrect translations of the Diary, causing Fr. Sopocko much suffering. After his death, the ban was eventually reversed by Pope John Paul II in 1979.
