Father Wyszynski Pilgrimage

where they rested until 1955. Then they were moved to a specially prepared niche in the church wall where they remain to this day. Eight days after Fr. Casimir’s death, Fr. John de Rosario Diaz arrived in Balsam ã o with the intention of joining the Marian Order. The Bishop appointed him the superior of the Marian community. Father Diaz delivered the eulogy in Fr. Casimir’s honor on the 30 th day after his death. He expressed his conviction that Fr. Casimir heroically served God and people and that God had called Fr. Casimir to Himself to reward him with eternal glory. Father Diaz said that the purity and sanctity of Fr. Casimir’s soul were confirmed by the fact that birds used to flutter into his cell and wouldn’t leave until Fr. Casmir nodded. Everyone was astounded to hear a chance bird’s sweet song as Fr. Casimir lay dying. The bird instantly disappeared at the moment of his death. Another sign of his sanctity was the unusual elasticity of his body parts after death, along with the beauty of his face and the sweet aroma pervading his cell. Father Casimir’s death was a great blow to the Portuguese Marians. They were left not only without a superior, but also without a priest. None of them had yet made a profession of vows. They immediately besought the General Superior in Poland to have some Marians dispatched to continue the work started by Fr. Casimir. The Marians in Portugal passed the news 51 Renewal and Growth of the Marian Order