Father Casimir Wyszynski

should try to obtain this place: it is a church dedicated to the Blessed Mother; it holds a mosaic which cannot be found any- where else in the world, depicting the apostles all dressed in white—the color of the Marian habit. Further, Father Casimir learned from Br. Gianbattista, a Franciscan whom he had be- friended, that the church belonged to the Basilian monks who were having trouble maintaining it because their Eastern Rite was foreign to the local people. With the permission of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, the Basilians were presently collecting contributions from Christian countries in order to purchase a different place. In the meantime, the church was almost completely abandoned and it was only occasionally that some priest would celebrate Mass there. For these reasons, Father Wyszyński again engaged the law- yer, Peter Pruski, to acquire this church for the Marians. Alas, all of the information proved to be misleading: not only had the Basilianmonks never abandoned the church, but they had never intended to sell it either. The above-mentioned Franciscan friar took Father Casimir to see another church that belonged to the Brotherhood of Saddlers, but again they were unsuccessful. What a joy it was then for the Procurator General to finally be received by the Holy Father Benedict XIV at an audience on No- vember 29, 1751, during which he had a chance to speak to the Holy Father about his Order’s present situation and to discuss the matter of Rev. Turczynowicz. He also asked for special indul- gences and relics and submitted three reminders, one of which dealt with the matter of the Marians’ settling in the Eternal City: “The Holy Father discussed the matter with me and when I told him that we did not have a place to live here in Rome, he said: ‘Look for the place and we will help you.’ When I mentioned to him the Church of SantaMaria inNavicella, he said: ‘You are doing the right thing; I approve and give youmy blessing,’ and he patted me andmade the sign of the Cross onmy head. Oh, how I rejoiced and felt revived after this audience…” Nevertheless, the purchase of the Church of Santa Maria in Navicella proved impossible, so Father Casimir was forced to look 49 The Servant of Mary Immaculate