Lest You Remain

death of his protector and friend, Bishop Wierzbowski in 1687. He and his commu- nity had to withstand a new wave of accusations and libels seriously undermining the right to existence of an institute based on simple vows, to which the new shep- herd of the diocese gave ear and almost dissolved the Marian Order. This disturbed the vocation of a great majority of members, and even the Founder himself fell into doubts as to the appropriateness of his undertaking. He turned to the Superior General of the Piarist for advice: should he continue on this new road of religious life or should he return to the Order of the Pious Schools? This third petition of Fr. Papczy<ski , directed to his former order, clearly shows how much spiritual dark- ness and inner ambivalence were for him in his mission of founding the Order of the Immaculate Conception, and how painful the burden of the responsibility for the birthing of this new endeavor. Only his deep conviction that such was God’s will and his obedience to his spiritual directors enabled him to move forward. Gravely ill and weakened by the severity of life, he undertook to obtain the papal approval for the Marian Order in 1690. To this end, being almost 60 years of age, he personally went by foot to Rome. Maybe, this dramatic and difficult pil- grimage of Father Founder, which he made in the fall and winter—a time most unfavorable for travel, strongly teaches us the depth of his love for our community, and, indirectly, for each one of us. He arrived in Rome at the unfortunate time of Pope Alexander VII’s death. Ascertaining that the Holy See was not prone to approve new orders with their own rule (although many exceptions are known), Fr. Stanislaus sought support from the Franciscans of the Strict Observance, which would take the Marian Order under their spiritual care. Among the existing approved religious rules of life one seemed to be most close to him—because of its name and its immaculateness spirituality—the rule of the Monastic Order of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. (also called the Conceptionists). All that Fr. Stanislaus had to do then was to procure the papal approval, but his poor health did not allow him to remain in Rome until the election of the new pontiff. After his return to Poland, Fr. Papczy<ski did not cease at all in his efforts to strengthen the rights of his congregation. To this end in 1692, he wrote three times to the Holy See petitioning for approval of the Marian Order on the basis of the Conceptionist Sisters’ rule of life. His efforts did not bring any positive results, because in the opinion of the Congregation of Bishops and religious, the approval of the local Ordinary was sufficient for the Marians’ legal existence within the Church. In spite of this, Fr. Founder, himself already in very deteriorated health, in 1699 renewed his petition for the approval of the Marian Order and sent Fr. Joachim Koz ∏ owski to Rome as his representative. The latter, encountering difficulties with the appro- bation of the Marian Order on “The Rule of Life”, asked the Franciscans for “The Rule of the Ten Virtues of the B.V.M.” The document issued by the General of the Franciscans of the Strict Observance, granting this rule to the Marians, was L EST Y OU R EMAIN W ITHOUT W ORK IN THE V INEYARD OF THE L ORD 90