Father Casimir Wyszynski

I shall demonstrate how the Venerable Casimir Wyszyński embraced the three religious vows of chastity, poverty and obe- dience, and how he practiced these three virtues of the spiritual life in a perfect manner. The decree on his heroic virtue, proclaim- ed by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints on December 21, 1989, recognized Father Casimir’s exceptional radicalism in fulfilling the Christian virtues, including his religious vows. At the same time, the decree assures us that wemay take Father Casimir as a model for our own religious life. To some extent, I base my reflections on the Summarium concerning the virtues of the Ser- vant of God Casimir, which was included in the Positio . 88 Chastity a vailable testimonies about Father Casimir’s life confirm that he “excelled in such flawless purity that he was often compared to another Casimir (Polish Saint 1458-1484) or called an angel in a human body. His chastity expressed itself in his discipline of the eyes in hismeetings and conversations, in themanner he car- ried himself and performed all tasks.” 89 An eyewitness, Father Czermak stated that he always saw Father Casimir’s chastity “being preserved in an exemplary manner.” 90 Another witness who lived alongside Father Casimir for 12 years claimed that he witnessed the “exceptional chastity” of the Servant of God, for which reason he was presented to everyone as a model of conti- nence. Indeed, Father Casimir distinguished himself by the inno- cence of his life and moral chastity, which he proved by “making 88 Sacra Congregatio pro Causis Sanctorum, Miranden. seu Brigantien. Beati- ficationis et canonizationis Servi Dei Casimiri a S. Ioseph Wyszyński [...]. Positio super virtutibus e fficio concinnata , Romae 1986, LXX-LXXX (afterwards: PositioWysz ). 89 Ibid, 386; A. Fischer, Życie, cnoty i śmierć święta … 58. 90 PositioWysz , 439.