Father Casimir Wyszynski

aside. Moved by zeal and being in fact the Procurator of the Order, I asked for my name to be entered in the register as Padre Procu- ratore Generale di Religiosi Mariani […] Polacco . Requesting an audience as such, I was received, and I gave the Holy Father a re- port on our Order, on my duties and activities, and I asked his blessing for our Congregation. The Holy Father answered: ‘Benedico tibe et Congregationi’ [I bless you and the Congrega- tion]. Then I said: ‘This Congregationwas founded for the greater honor of the Immaculate Virgin.’ The Holy Father asked: ‘Immac- ulate Conception? Good!’ and he nodded.” Father Wyszyński’s insistence that the Marians not miss an opportunity for the beatification of their Founder, included the possibility of expediting the solemn promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. On February 26, 1752, he wrote in his Diary : “They are urging us to begin efforts for the elevation of our Founder to the honors of the altar. That would help us to refute the attacks of the enemies of this holy mystery, and the Holy Church would have a reason to proceed with the definitive pronouncement of this truth. I am here like a thorn in the side of these enemies, so they do not like to look at me, but we expect to conquer all of these adversities soon, as long as we all become worthy of and useful for the promotion of the honor of the Most Holy Virgin.” In his letter of July 15, 1752, addressed to the Superior Gen- eral, Father Cajetan Wetycki, he returns to this matter: “Nobody hides a candle under a bushel basket, but puts it on a stand so that it can give light. If we want the Order of the Virgin Mary to flourish, we should busy ourselves with noble and praiseworthy deeds. It is not wewho are the concern here, rather it is the honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed virginMary. There- fore, her Order should be spread and the venerator of this mys- tery, our Venerable Founder, should be particularly praised and efforts be made to bring about his beatification. He is worthy of it and deserves it, and it is our duty to do this for him. Nobody will condemn us, rather they will praise us for it. The Lord God Himself demands this from us when He blesses us unexpectedly 66 Z YGMUNT P ROCZEK , MIC, P H D