Lumen 2018

to the rules and regulations of the Piarist Order and written in Latin by Papczynski himself, survived to this day. This is what it says: “I, Stanislaus of Jesus Mary, also known by my secular name of John Papczynski, hereby make my profession at the Congregation of Pious Schools of the Poor of the Blessed Mother and offer to God the Almighty Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as well as to the Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, to you, Reverend Fa- ther Alexander of St. Bernard, who take the place of the Lord on behalf of the Most Reverend Father Superior General, John of Jesus Mary, and to all his legitimate successors, three simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In accordance with these vows, I promise to be particularly dedicated to the education of youth, ac- cording to the form prescribed by Pope Paul V’s breve and con- tained in our Constitutions.” 81 Stanislaus of Jesus Mary Papczynski was the first Pole to take re- ligious vows in the renovated Congregation of the Piarist Fathers. Minor Orders and the Sub-diaconate The last ten days of July 1656 were important for Stanislaus Pa- pczynski not only because he made his religious profession at that time. He also took the next step towards the priesthood. He had tended towards it for a long time, cultivating the appropriate intel- lectual and moral attributes. The religious documents describe him as clericus novitius, i.e., a candidate for the priesthood. 82 This was why his superiors sent him to study theology after his first year of the novitiate. After he had made his religious profession, he received his Minor Orders and Sub-diaconate 83 in the last week of July 1656. The exact date of this event is not known because the appropriate documents did not survive. Only indirect testimonies are available. They come from the documents which recorded the scrutinies ( scrutinia ) of the conduct of the Piarist novices in Podoliniec from 1658 to 1660. Stanislaus Papczynski also participated in these scru- S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 112