A Tour of the Shrine Church

A Tour of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy
 

Beautiful hand-sculpted statues and stonework adorn the façade of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy.

 

Like many New England churches, the inside of the Shrine is adorned with intricately hand-carved wood.

 

The high altar is made of Vermont marble. It holds the tabernacle for reserving the Eucharist.
The Divine Mercy Image is above the altar surrounded by golden rays, and is flanked by hand-carved statues of the apostles, each carrying their instruments of evangelization or martyrdom.
 

Just above the Divine Mercy Image is a statue of Mary, the Immaculate Conception, carved from white Carrara marble.

 

 Above Mary, a magnificent mural depicts the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, crowning Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Two sculpted cherubs (not pictured here) keep watch over the sanctuary. 


The St. Joseph Chapel

The St. Joseph Chapel is located to the left of the high altar. Its archway, a garland of oak leaves wrapped with a ribbon, symbolizes strength. Saint Joseph is the protector and guardian of the Holy Family. He is also patron of husbands, fathers, and the dying. In 1870, St. Joseph was proclaimed by Pope Bl. Pius IX as the Universal Patron of the Church. Saint Joseph is one of the patrons of the Marian Congregation.

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima, located in the right corner, is modeled after the description the children gave of her. It is a reminder to heed her words and pray the Rosary for the conversion of the world. The statue was made in Fatima, Portugal, where the Marian Fathers maintain a pastoral presence.

  The second-class relics of Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta Marto, are encased in the kneeler for veneration.

On the left wall of the St. Joseph Chapel is the bas relief honoring the Marian Martyrs of Rosica. Blessed Anthony Leszczewicz and Blessed George Kaszyra were martyred by fire in February 1943 by the Nazis in Rosica, Belarus. These priests were given a chance to escape, but instead chose to die with their parishioners. On June 13, 1999, Pope St. John Paul II beatified Bl. Anthony and Bl. George as part of a group of 108 World War II martyrs

The motto of Blessed George Matulaitis, the Renovator of the Marian Fathers, as a bishop is displayed on the left side of this chapel: “Conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:21).

His first-class relic and a relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux are encased in the kneelers for veneration.
 

Above the entrance to the St. Joseph Chapel is a mural that depicts the “Renovation of the Marian Fathers.” The mural shows Fr. Vincent Senkus-Senkowski, the last Marian to wear the white habit, handing on the authorization to Blessed George Matulaitis, the Marian Renovator, to renovate and update the Constitutions of the Marians. Saint Pius X and cardinals are represented giving the apostolic approval for the renovation of the Congregation.

The St. Faustina Chapel

The St. Faustina Chapel is located to the right of the high altar. Pilgrims can venerate a first-class relic of St. Faustina encased in the kneeler in her chapel along with two other saints’ relics: Blessed Michael Sopoćko, the spiritual director of St. Faustina, and a first-class relic of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the 17th-century French Visitation nun and mystic. She is depicted in a stained-glass window on the right of this chapel.

The chapel also includes a glass case within which are relics of Pope St. John Paul II.  Saint John Paul offered this zucchetto (white skull cap) to the National Shrine on June 2, 2000. It was worn by His Holiness in 1980. The Rosary beads were originally in the hands of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.

Above the entrance to the St. Faustina Chapel is a mural of the “Apostolic Approval of the Marians.” St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński, the founder of the Marian Fathers, kneels as he receives the Rule of the Ten Virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Pope Innocent XII. Standing next to him is Venerable Servant of God Fr. Casimir Wyszyński, MIC (1700-1755), a zealous religious who deeply loved his order and its founder; a great devotee of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception; an intercessor for the Holy Souls in Purgatory; and a promoter of the Blue Scapular.

Stained-Glass Windows

The Shrine features 36 stained-glass windows and two mosaics created by artist Fred Leuchs.
 

These vibrant windows portray the mercy of God as seen in Scripture ...

images of Mary ...

 

and the Apostles.

 

At the back of the church, above the choir loft, a grand rose window depicts various symbols of Mary, taken from the Litany of Loreto.