Father Wyszynski Pilgrimage

45 Renewal and Growth of the Marian Order even though the process may continue for some time. It is necessary to carefully consider all this. Thus, I advise and plead for the love of God to have this cause opened as soon as possible. Let us not be deterred by privation or unfavorable circumstances. Let us not stop even if a disaster, God forbid, were to strike the King- dom of Poland. In all troubles let us take our Father for our Patron and God will not refuse graces to those who honor Him in His servants” (July 19, 1752). In May of 1753, Fr. Casimir and Fr. Benon set off for Portugal. At first, they traveled on foot from Rome to Genoa, where they boarded a ship to Spain. It was not until October that they arrived by land in Lisbon, Portugal. In his Diary Fr. Casimir recorded details of this journey, which lasted as long as five months and abounded in adventures and perils. He was convinced that he owed his survival amidst all dangers to the pro- tection of Mary Immaculate and the intercession of Blessed Stanislaus Papczyński. He described the beginnings of the Marian mission in Portugal in two letters to the General Superior of the Marians in Rome. When in October of 1753, the two travelers ar- rived in Lisbon they discovered that neither the royal court nor any person of note in Portugal had ever thought about a foundation for the Marians. The entire matter proved to be a fabrication of Fr. Anthony de Souza Salazar who had himself tried to establish an Order of the Immaculate Conception. His efforts hith- erto were not yielding any results.