A relic of St. Faustina Kowalska is permanently installed at Our Lady of Fatima Church
Parishioners venerate the relic of St. Faustina after the installation Mass for the relic, on April 12, 2026 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Fort Worth. (NTC/Ben Torres)
FORT WORTH — Entrusted with carrying a first-degree relic of St. Faustina Kowalska from Poland to Our Lady of Fatima Church in Fort Worth, Christina Hoang prayed for guidance.
“Please Lord, tell me what to do to carry her home,” recalled the founder of the growing Divine Mercy movement in North Texas. “I knew I had to be very reverent and hoped the TSA [Transportation Security Administration] wouldn’t stop me.”
Nestled in a capsule, a piece of the saint’s bone was safeguarded in a beautiful reliquary too heavy to carry across Europe and then Texas. Hoang decided to transfer the tiny vial into the burse she uses to bring Communion to the homebound and, protectively, placed it around her neck.
“I was in awe,” the Our Lady of Fatima parishioner said, reflecting on her role in bringing a relic of St. Faustina, known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy, to the diocese. “The relic was given to me on October 5, St. Faustina’s feast day, so I see the Holy Spirit’s hand in this.”
Parishioners from across the diocese celebrated the installation of the relic inside Fort Worth’s Our Lady of Fatima Church on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12. Father Jonathan Wallis, vicar general and moderator of the curia, presided at the trilingual Mass with Father Vinh Van Vu, CRM, pastor; Father Robert Strittmatter; and Father Lawrence Nguyen, CRM, pastor of Christ the King in Fort Worth.
An extraordinary spiritual life
Given the name Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament when she entered the convent in 1925, the Polish nun grew up in a poor but devout Catholic family as the third of ten children. One of the most beloved saints in the Church today, she led an extraordinary spiritual life shaped by her encounters with Jesus Christ. During His messages, the mystic was tasked with spreading His compassion and forgiveness to the world. As part of that mission, Sr. Faustina was also directed to recreate a vision she experienced in 1931 as a permanent reminder of God’s Divine Mercy.
The painted image, showing Jesus with rays of red and white light streaming from His heart, is said to symbolize grace and blood. Jesus also instructed the nun to pray for mercy using specific words which became known as the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The prayer, traditionally prayed each day at 3 p.m., gained worldwide popularity after Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina in 2000 — the first saint of the new millennium.
A reminder of goodness and holiness
Addressing the 700 worshippers attending the afternoon Mass, Fr. Wallis said God extends His mercy and compassion in a special way through St. Faustina, “especially through the holy relic we solemnly install today. We pray that through her intercession, our diocese and this parish may be blessed with many vocations to the priesthood.”
Relics of saints, he told the congregation, remind us of the goodness of God’s creation and the holiness of someone who lives in God’s presence and can pray for us.
“All of us are in need of mercy — the mercy of Jesus Christ through the holy relic of Sr. Faustina,” Fr. Wallis added. “Let us ask that through the intercession of St. Faustina, we may live and serve Jesus Christ in our families and our world.”
In closing, he asked his listeners to follow the example of the early Christians who devoted themselves to the teachings of the Apostles, the breaking of bread, and prayer.
“May our lives reflect the beauty and peace of Jesus Christ and be blessed through the intercession of St. Faustina,” Fr. Wallis urged.
Following the Mass, members of the Divine Mercy Movement from five Vietnamese parishes in the dioceses of Fort Worth and Dallas processed with Deacon Michael Hoang, who carried the relic of St. Faustina to its permanent home in the church’s newly renamed St. Faustina Chapel.
Fr. Wallis blessed the reliquary before the relic was returned to the main sanctuary for veneration by parishioners.
Exceptional devotion
“It’s a great honor. I believe having a relic of St. Faustina in the diocese is the beginning of expanding love for Divine Mercy in this area,” said Huyen Tran, a Divine Mercy advocate since 2019. “I’m excited to see how many people will make a pilgrimage here.”
The Vietnamese Martyrs parishioner became acquainted with the Divine Mercy Chaplet when she witnessed her late father, Kha Pham, recite it every night in the hospital.
“After he passed away, I made a commitment to learn about the Divine Mercy,” she said. “Seeing the comfort it brought to my father really affected me. Now, I’m spreading the word.”
Tran is one of the 54 Divine Mercy devotees Christina Hoang led on a pilgrimage to Poland and Rome in 2025. A month before the trip, Hoang petitioned St. Faustina’s religious order, the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, for a first-degree relic. First-class relics are body fragments and are venerated to honor a saint’s inspiring way of life and faith.
The Sisters of Mercy in Krakow became custodians of the tomb and relics of St. Faustina in 2003. A relic is granted by the convent’s mother superior to parishes where Divine Mercy is the patron or where devotion is exceptionally strong. After a private meeting and completing paperwork, Hoang received the relic and a certificate of authenticity from the mother superior before a Mass in the Shrine of Divine Mercy.
“St. Faustina devoted her life to Divine Mercy and praying for souls to come back to Jesus,” she said. “People today carry a lot of pain, stress, and uncertainty. With Divine Mercy, no one is beyond hope. That message is needed more now than ever.”
Father Vinh Van Vu, CRM, places the relic of St. Faustina inside the chapel during the installation Mass of the relic of St. Faustina, on April 12, 2026 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Fort Worth. (NTC/Ben Torres)
On the second and fourth Saturdays and the third Sunday of each month, from 3:45 - 4:15 pm, pilgrims have the opportunity to venerate and touch St. Faustina's reliquary in front of the altar. Group pilgrimages may be scheduled through the church office.