Inspired by St. Faustina’s diary, Andy Kirsch and Gabby Doran set out to create a musical soundtrack based on the saint’s own words.
Doran told Practicing Catholic host Patrick Conley on the program that airs Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. on Relevant Radio 1330 AM that the idea started when Kirsch approached her after a Divine Mercy Sunday service in 2023 in which she performed vocals.
“He (Kirsch) had an inspiration to hear more of St. Faustina’s words set to music,” Doran said. “Not just her words, but poetry. What most people don’t know is that she had these beautiful visions, but she also wrote poetry in her diary, and as far as we know, no one has really done much with that poetry.”
Doran and Kirsch took English translations of St. Faustina’s texts and set the poems to music from different musical traditions and recorded them. Doran sings and is accompanied by an organ.
“St. Faustina is one of my favorite saints,” Kirsch said. “Her writings have been transformational in my inner life. It’s that good. I really wanted to see more people become aware of those and I thought this would be a wonderful way to get the word out to those who don’t have the time to read the diary.”
St. Faustina died at the age of 33 shortly before Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland. Kirsch said she didn’t have a formal education, but was an intelligent woman, which is demonstrated by her writing and word choice.
Doran said God sends the right saint at the right time. “When Andy presented me with this project, just personally and professionally, this was a really perfect time for me. I had never read her diary. I was familiar with her, I prayed the chaplet, I knew about the image of Divine Mercy. But I had never read the diary. To prepare for this work, I read through the entire diary, and sitting with her words and hearing her incredible trust in God was so important for me at that moment in my life. It’s important all the time, but it was great timing.”
Listeners who want to find the Voice of St. Faustina can visit the Cathedral of St. Paul for a physical copy or visit the Cathedral’s online gift store. Digital copies can be found online at bandcamp.com.
To hear more about the music from Kirsch and Doran tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Oct. 4 and 2 p.m. Oct. 5.
The program also includes a discussion with Father Louis Floeder about challenges the Church faces today, mainly with youth falling away from faith. Also, Bishop Michael Izen dives into the significance of pruning season and how Catholics can approach change.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program can also be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
