Cooking with Saints: St Faustina’s Peperonata

by Grazia Barletta · Published April 6, 2024 · Updated April 3, 2024

Every month in her Cape Town kitchen, Grazia Barletta prepares a recipe inspired by the saints, and shares it with our readers in text and photos taken exclusively for The Southern Cross by the chef herself.

On the Second Sunday of Easter, this year on April 7, the Church marks the feast of the Divine Mercy, a devotion that goes back to the apparitions of Christ to a Polish nun in the 1920s and ’30s.

St Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament was born on August 25, 1905, as Helena Kowalska in Glogowiec, northwest of the city of Lódz in Poland. The third of ten children in a poor but devout family, Faustina felt called to religious life at the tender age of seven, during an exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. After completing her schooling at 16, Faustina wanted to become a nun, but her parents refused, so she became a housekeeper to support her family.

In 1924, Faustina experienced her first vision of Jesus, while attending a dance with her sister Natalia. According to Faustina, Jesus instructed her to leave for Warsaw immediately and join a convent. Faustina departed the following morning. Despite several rejections, Faustina persevered until she was finally accepted by the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, on the condition that she pay for her religious habit. After saving money as a housekeeper, she entered the convent in 1926, taking the religious name Sr Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament and making her first vows in 1928.

Sr Faustina’s spiritual journey continued as she travelled to various convents in Poland and Lithuania, suffering illness and hardship along the way.

In 1931, she received a vision of Jesus as the “King of Divine Mercy”, wearing a white garment with red and pale rays extruding from his heart. He instructed her to spread the message of God’s mercy to the world. This led to the creation of the Divine Mercy image and the chaplet of Divine Mercy, which became central to her mission.

Despite her declining health, Sr Faustina remained steadfast in her devotion and continued to promote the message of Divine Mercy until her death on October 5, 1938.

Her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, has become a guide for devotion to Divine Mercy.

Beatified in 1993 and canonised in 2000 by Pope John Paul II, St Faustina’s feast day is on October 5. Her tomb is located in the Divine Mercy basilica in Krakow (more about that in next month’s issue).

In addition to her spiritual contribution, St Faustina’s example of gratitude is inspiring. She always thanked God for even the smallest sufferings, recognising them as opportunities for growth and sanctification. This gratitude is a good example of humility as we surrender ourselves to God’s mercy.

For the feast of the Divine Mercy, I have chosen a recipe featuring the humble pepper. It’s a simple yet colourful dish that reflects the humility we are called to in the face of God’s mercy and the beauty of gratitude in daily life.

Ingredients:

3 mixed colour peppers (red, yellow, green), rinsed and sliced. • Oil (for frying) • Salt and pepper to taste • 1 clove garlic, crushed • 200g tomatoes, chopped • 15ml oregano (dried or fresh) • handful fresh basil leaves

Preparation: 50 min • Servings: 3

Preparation:

In a large frying pan, sauté the sliced peppers in hot oil until soft. Remove and place in a bowl.
Add the chopped tomatoes, herbs and garlic to the pan and cook till soft. Then add in the peppers cooking for a few more minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve peppers at room temperature with fresh Italian ciabatta or a crusty baguette. (Tip: The peppers taste better prepared the day before and they can be stored in the fridge for a good few days.)
Enjoy with a prayer for the intercession of St Faustina!

Published in April 2024 issue of The Southern Cross magazine