Lumen 2018

this period, the Piarists in Poland remained under Fr. Novari’s rule. He bore the title of the Vicar-Provincial Superior of Germany and Poland ( Vice-Provincialis Germaniae et Poloniae ) and a little later that of the Vicar of Poland (Vicarius Poloniae ) till the end of his life. This worthy father, who rendered such great service to the province, died on May 28, 1657, in Rzeszow. 22 Father Conti governed the German-Polish Province till May 1659 when Fr. John Dominic of the Holy Cross Franco took over. On January 18, 1662, the Polish Vice-Province of the Piarist Fathers, numbering about thirty members working in three houses, was raised to the status of a province. Fr. Franco, who died later that same year, was its first Provincial Superior. 23 After him, the province was governed by the Piarists of German origin: Fr. James of St. Barbara Wezyrka, a Silesian (1662-1665) (also known as Weczirka or Wiec- zorek) and Fr. Wenceslaus Opatowski of the Blessed Sacrament, a Moravian (1665-1671). 24 T HE P ATH OF V OCATION During his stay at the family home after his studies in Rawa Ma- zowiecka, Papczynski decided to join the Piarists. And so, the day came when the luggage had to be prepared. It contained the most important things: two suits made from light cloth, two sets of un- dergarments, light shoes and boots, a hat, a belt, an alpenstock (framea), 25 and 27 florins. Apart from this, he took three books by his favorite authors, Virgil, Claudius, and Thomas à Kempis, all “rendered in the Polish language.” 26 Having said good-bye to his mother and numerous siblings, John Papczynski left his family nest and made his way to the south. Podoliniec, his haven, was located in Spisz, beyond Stary Sacz, 50 kilometers away from Podegrodzie. The steep mountain paths led him to this haven through the green hills of Beskid Sadecki and the ragged range of Karpaty, above the picturesque banks of the Poprad River. He was most likely unable to complete this journey in one day and had to take a break for the 99 At the Piarist Fathers