Lumen 2018

It may seem surprising that Pignatelli, a 49-year-old man, Prince of the Church and Apostolic Nuncio, chose a relatively young priest (Fr. Stanislaus was 33 years old at that time) for his confessor. His decision was probably influenced by the fact that Papczynski was al- ready an excellent preacher 212 and was considered to be a model re- ligious. 213 In the years 1664-1667, Papczynski, indeed, enjoyed great esteem, both among the clergy and the lay personages of Warsaw, due to his erudition, eloquence, and virtue ... . 214 In light of these facts, it is understandable that the nuncio chose this saintly religious to be his spiritual confidante regardless of his relatively young age. 215 This piece of information contained in Papczynski’s biography by Leporini is confirmed by a valuable piece of evidence, namely, a letter written by George Denhoff, Bishop of Przemysl, to Cardinal Marescotti, in which the bishop mentions Stanislaus Papczynski and refers to him as one who was once in service ( in servitiis ) to the (then) present Pope Innocent XII, and we certainly do not know of any other “services” that Fr. Papczynski might have rendered to the future Pope Innocent XII. 216 The same was confirmed by the witnesses in the In- formation Process. 217 A man by the name Fijalkowski testified that he had read letters written to Fr. Papczynski by both King Sobieski and Nuncio Pignatelli. 218 Anthony Pignatelli later distinguished himself with his zeal in practicing the virtue of piety. He was also known for his charity to- wards the needy and was called a “poor” cardinal. As Bishop of Naples, he reserved a large part of his material possessions for char- ity. After he had been elected pope, he continued his zealous service for the benefit of the poor. He was totally dedicated to them, both morally and materially. He made great contributions to the devel- opment of Hospicjum di S. Michele a Ripa Grande , which provided shelter and an opportunity to study for the poorest youth. He also designated a part of his palace at the Lateran to be a shelter for the disabled. While other popes usually distributed their material pos- sessions among their relatives, Pope Innocent XII distributed them among the poor, whom he called his relatives. At the same time, he 131 At the Piarist Fathers