How fitting for the Year of Mercy!
A new documentary has just been released on the history of one of the more famous versions of the Divine Mercy image. Titled “The Original Image of Divine Mercy: the Untold Story of an Unknown Masterpiece,” it features some pretty big names: comedian Jim Gaffigan, actor and musician Harry Connick, Jr., George Weigel, Bishop Robert Barron, and others.
Although there are several Divine Mercy images used around the world, apparently only one was made in the lifetime of St. Faustina, on whose mystical visions the image is based. And it was almost destroyed.
“The violently anti-Catholic Soviet Occupation of Vilnius, Lithuania, forced the painting into hiding,” the documentary’s website explains. “Finally, two humble nuns accepted the ‘mission impossible’ and transported the miraculous painting across the dangerous border between Lithuania and Belarus.”
Only recently did it find a home: “In 2005, after 75 years of wandering, the painting was placed in a permanent home in a beautiful shrine in Vilnius according to the wishes of Saint Faustina and Blessed Fr. Michal Sopocko.”
Wow – who knew?
You can learn more about the film on its website, as well as book a screening for your parish.
Here’s the trailer:
So what do you think: is this something you want to see? Let us know in the comments!
[See also: The Hidden Meanings of the Year of Mercy Logo, Explained in One Infographic]
[See also: 3 Beautiful Celebrities Who Gave It All Up to Become Nuns]