Father Casimir Wyszynski

then patted [Father Casimir] on the head and made a sign of the cross over him. After this audience, Father Casimir wrote, “I dried my tears and felt very reassured.” Of special importance are instructions of February 20, 1752, entitled “TheManner of introducing at our churches indulgences for the dead during the octave of All Souls Day.” These instruc- tions were composed according to the Church laws and pious practices of the period as found in the churches of Rome. Al- though in some aspects they are no longer timely, they testify to Father Casimir’s dedication to bringing assistance to the dead, as well as to his apostolic spirit in guiding the still-living faithful to God. For those reasons, the instructions are given here in full: “First, you need to present to the Ordinary in whose diocese the monastery is located, the special Privilege granted to our Order by the Holy See. Then you should ask for approval, doing so by a separate document, because the brief was given in perpetuity. Therefore, it would not be possible for every bishop to write his approval on the original copy. They can, if they wish, sign on the (apostolic) brief. “Earlier, you should announce the introduction of this devo- tion, assigning a day. It seems appropriate to introduce it in the afternoon on Saturday in the octave of All Souls Day, so that the celebrationwould go uninterrupted until the next Sundaymorn- ing. This would be more convenient for people going to confes- sion and for an increased turnout. You should commission a painting on canvas—done perhaps in some inexpensive paints— of the same size or larger than the painting on the main altar, so that it can be carried during enthronement. This image is to show the Blessed Virgin clad inwhite and totally surrounded by clouds. Underneath, there should be Purgatory with suffering souls, two Marians kneeling on a rock above Purgatory and holding in one hand a small book and a rosary, and in the other some vessels from which they pour water to extinguish Purgatory’s flames. Such an image has already been painted and is about to be put on display on All Souls Day at the Church of Our Lord’s Cenacle. Due to the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, make sure that 74 Z YGMUNT P ROCZEK , MIC, P H D