Hawaii Catholic Herald
People devoted to the Divine Mercy — or anyone seeking a quiet place to reflect and pray — have a new location on Maui where they can find peace and enrich their faith.
On Oct. 5, Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Kula celebrated the enshrinement of a first-class relic of St. Faustina Kowalska, the patron saint of mercy whose writings, “Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul,” inspired the worldwide movement of devotion to Divine Mercy.
Mary Ann Turek, who was instrumental in acquiring the relic, said the date of the ceremony is also St. Faustina’s feast day. It was a fitting end to the long and arduous mission of obtaining the relic.
Turek said the journey took more than a year, from the first inklings of obtaining the relic in May 2024 to enshrining it before hundreds of faithful from across Maui. It involved seeking permission from La Salette Father Anton Nyo, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels; obtaining letters from Bishop Larry Silva and Father Nyo; mailing a formal request to the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Krakow, Poland; and anxiously waiting for a response.
(St. Faustina was a native of Poland who joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925.)
It wasn’t until a month ago — during a previously planned pilgrimage to Poland — that Turek received confirmation from Sister Norberta Ruchala, mother general of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy’s convent, that Our Lady Queen of Angels could receive a first-class relic of St. Faustina.
On Sept. 12, Turek said, she received the relic during a visit to the sisters’ convent.
“With the many obstacles I met along the way, it was a clue to keep going,” Turek said. “I firmly believe with all my heart St. Faustina is meant to be here to bring people closer to God.”
There was much enthusiasm and faith on display Oct. 5 when St. Faustina’s relic was enshrined at Our Lady Queen of Angels. Msgr. Terry Watanabe, pastor of St. Anthony Church in Wailuku and vicar forane for the Maui-Lanai Vicariate, presided before more than 400 faithful. The relic was revealed and venerated by those in attendance.
St. Faustina’s relic now rests in a permanent indoor location at Our Lady Queen of Angels.
“I pray she will bring much healing and renewal of faith,” Turek said.
At top: Hundreds gathered Oct. 5 outside Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Kula, Maui, for the enshrinement of the St. Faustina relic. Above: The relic’s permanent location within the church. (Courtesy Audie Pascual and Father Anton Nyo)