LINCOLN (SNR) – The Knights of Columbus Council 9563 of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln coordinated the construction of two Divine Mercy/pro-Life billboards on highways around the city in 2007.
Three billboards are now in place, with the mission to spread the message of Divine Mercy, as Jesus asked St. Faustina. St. Faustina Kowalska was a young Polish nun born at the beginning of the 20th century. Over the course of several years she had visions of Jesus, whereby she was directed to create an image with the words “Jesus I Trust In You,” and to share with the world revelations of Jesus’ love and mercy.
Between 1934 and her death in 1938, St. Faustina recorded her conversations with Jesus in a diary that was later published in dozens of languages and led to the worldwide spread of the Divine Mercy devotion.
The 20’ X 8’ permanent billboards are double-sided with a pro-life image and message on the reverse side. More than 25,000 cars travel daily on the highways with these three billboards, allowing these messages to be seen by people of all denominations. Manny Gallardo said the billboards are a city-wide effort by all Knights of Columbus councils in Lincoln and the Lincoln area, each council donating toward the maintenance of the billboards. Councils across the Diocese of Lincoln support similiar billboards.
The Knights of Columbus of St. James Parish in Cortland updated the images on the billboards north of their town, and the Cathedral Council #9563 completed the updating of one of the other billboards this month. Eight Knights – and three sons – gathered Dec. 5 to update the images on the billboard at the Bennet Interchange east of Lincoln. The next – 6 miles north on Hwy 77 – will be updated when weather permits.
Images need to be replaced approximately every 3 to 5 years. Donations toward the upkeep may be made to the Cathedral Council #9563 by mailing to 5324 S 61st Street, Lincoln, NE 68516. All donations will be placed in a separate checking account used for the maintenance and upkeep of the billboards.
Manny Gallardo contributed to this report.
