Father Casimir Wyszynski

for another place. He found a church and a house even with a vineyard on the estate of Prince Barberini, but he was unable to make an immediate payment in the amount of 110 sequins [golden coins, each weighing 0.12 oz], which was about 2,000 Polish zlotys. Again, inMarch of 1752, negotiations regarding the purchase of the Church of St. Sebastian were successfully under way when they had to be suspended because it was necessary to attend to thematter of Father Turczynowicz. It was not until 1779 that theMarians were able to establish a residence in the Eternal City by purchasing St. Vitus’s churchwith the adjacent Cistercian monastery. Defender of Peasants 4 T he 18 th century was a period in Polish history that saw the decline of the status of peasants, themost numerous of the social categories. Deprived of legal protection, they suffered severely as a result of wars and frequent epidemics. Additionally, land was often taken away from the farmers, while the workload on their lord’s property increased. There were cases of peasants being sold for money or exchanged for draft animals. Polish intellectu- als called for reforms in this respect. Among themwas Stanislaus Garczyński, the governor of the Poznan district, who composed in the years 1733 to 1736 the “Anatomy of the Polish Republic.” In this book, he exhorted the clergy to promote social justice in keeping with the Christian spirit, and to attend especially to the educational and cultural needs of the rural people. “As a faithful son of the holy Father Founder and the guardian of his spiritual legacy,” Father Casimir Wyszyński cared for peas- ants who were despised by magnates and the gentry and who frequently lacked proper pastoral care. Father Casimir’s concern for peasants will be examined in three respects: the Marian Fa- 4 The word is used in its primary meaning, which describes a member of a chiefly European class that tills the soil as small landowner or hired la- borer—Webster Dictionary. 50 Z YGMUNT P ROCZEK , MIC, P H D