Lest You Remain

the third experience of the mystery of Purgatory was granted Fr. Papczy<ski at the shrine of Our Lady in Studzianna, in 1676, where he made a pilgrimage with the goal of begging for the personal grace of good health. While he stayed there at the monastery of the St. Philip’s Fathers his health worsened. There was fear that he might die. Precisely then—being in ecstasy—he was transported to Purgatory. He saw there the Mother of God praying for him, that he would receive a healing in order that he could further assist the dead. At the end of the vision, he quickly recovered strength and in the Studzianna Church he delivered a long sermon to the faithful on the need to assist the departed brothers and sisters. Finally, on February 11 of that same year, he accepted as one of the goals of his Order, that assistance be provided “with utmost diligence, piety, and zeal” for the Poor Souls in Purgato- ry, especially soldiers and victims of epidemics. Father Papczy<ski ’s frequent appeals and personal witness intensified concern among his brethren for the faithful departed and gave it an entirely new scope. The Marian Order occupied, at this time, a very developed spirituality in regard to the last things, which above all expressed the idea of ars bene moriendi [art of dying gracefully], as an absolutely indispensable condition of obtaining eternal life. For this reason, Christians, and especially consecrated religious had the responsibility, to not only concern themselves with their own salvation, but also to assist dying and the deceased brethren. Equally numerous confraternities, comprising lay peo- ple, promoted various forms of support for the deceased. The Marians, as hermits, had a daily obligation to recite the Office of the dead, prescribed for them by Bishop Jacek Swiecicki during his canonical visitation, which initiated the legal establishing of the Order, but only the personal charism of Father Founder made it a constitutional element of Marian spirituality. Let’s not be afraid to say that Fr. Papczy<ski ’s fervent compassion for the deceased was of a divine origin. The charism of our Founder not only augmented the holiness of the Church in purifica- tion (deceased brethren), but also had a fundamental influence upon the communi- ty of his spiritual sons. We see that the Church’s decision—given through Bishop Íwi"cicki —did not show itself sufficient, to set the spiritual assistance for the souls in Purgatory as the community’s charism. This was made possible thanks to Fr. Founder’s spirituality and his zealous apostolate on behalf of the “cause of noble love”—as he himself called it—in his Order and in the Church, by promoting it among the laity joined in Marian spirituality through the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. In accordance with the explicit directive of the Holy See, the renewed Congregation of Marian Fathers must continue the work of its Founder. The life of Fr. Stanislaus, friend of the suffering in Purgatory, and his first Marian companions, show, that the mandate of the Church has to meet itself in the interior flame within itself of the gift of God granted to the Marian community in the per- son of its Founder, so that this charismatic mission find its fruitful fulfillment. Biography of Fr. Stanislaus Papczy < ski 85