Father Casimir Wyszynski

nately, as he went deeper into the forest in search of peace and solitude, he came upon a hangedman (one of the household ser- vants) and heard behind his back the terrifying cawing of crows. He associated them with hellish demons and suffered a terrible shock. As a result of this encounter with death and its ensuing trauma, Francis lost all taste for earthly matters and undertak- ings. On the contrary, his longing for heavenly things increased. He felt the need to dedicate himself more completely to God and resolved to make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. 281 Alongwith the deepening of Francis’s inner life, some interior secrets began to develop. He never told anyone the reason— keeping it a secret forever—for having made the pledge to go on pilgrimage to far-away Spain. About thismatter he demonstrated great decisiveness and constancy. Nothing could turn him away from keeping his promise, not even his father and his family’s pleas. Moreover, moral arbiters chosen by his father supported Francis’s decision. 282 Therefore he set forth on the pilgrimage clad only in the garb of a poor pilgrim, reaching Rome and steadfastly bound to continue further. However, having crossed the Franco- Spanish border he fell seriously ill, and following doctors’ orders, was forced to return to Rome. Thus, he had to postpone his pil- grimage and soon understood that God had willed differently. Hence, he asked the Holy See for a dispensation from his pledge and he remained for some time in the Eternal City. 283 It is difficult to say howmuch Francis knew about his brother Joseph’s doings during Joseph’s time at the Marian Fathers’ novi- tiate. We do know that Joseph contributed to the dispersion of the Marian Order, which lasted several years. 284 But the matter was not totally unfamiliar to Francis. Father Joachim Kozłowski, who was in Rome as the General Procurator of the Marian Order, in- formed Francis in detail. In turn, Francis asked at once to be vested with the Marian habit and expressed his desire to repair all that 281 A. Fischer, Życie, cnoty i śmierć święta ..., 53. 282 M. Wyszyński, Chcę naprawić … , 22-23. 283 Ibid, 23. Cf. PositioWysz , 494 (Rev. Rychter’s testimony). 284 This is the matter of the Rostkovian dispersion (1715-1722). 187 A Man of Prayer and Love of the Eucharist