Lumen 2018

saw belonged to the Diocese of Poznan at that time. But, at the be- ginning of September 1671, upon the advice of his confessors, Fr. Stanislaus moved to Lubocza on the Pilica River 11 to the court of a nobleman by the name Jacob Karski and assumed the duties of chaplain 12 there. During the meeting with Bishop Wierzbowski, Fr. Papczynski ob- tained permission from him to wear a new habit. The Apostolic Nun- ciature was also notified about this fact. 13 After these formalities had been taken care of, Fr. Stanislaus was vested in the new white habit, similar to the one worn by the Piarist Fathers, but different only in color. While the Piarists wore a black habit, Fr. Stanislaus chose a white one. He believed that this color would be the most appropriate for the members of the “Society of the Immaculate Conception” as no other color expressed the spotlessness of Mary’s Conception so well. In Fr. Papczynski’s understanding, such a habit worn by the Marians was to be a natural aid in spreading the cult of the Immac- ulate Conception as the principal goal of the new Congregation. 14 The solemn ceremony of the investiture took place at the chapel of the Karski family during the octave of the Birth of the Blessed Vir- gin Mary around September 8, 1671, before the altar above which an icon of the Immaculate Virgin Mary was venerated. Adam Karski, member of the official legation of Poland to the Holy See in 1633, brought the icon from Rome as a gift from Pope Urban VIII (1624- 1644). 15 Everyone present at the ceremony of the investiture realized that this was the moment when the first seed of the new religious family, the first clerical order founded on Polish soil, was sown and began to take root. Immediately after the ceremony, Fr. Papczynski went to Warsaw to the Apostolic Nuncio, Angelo Ranucci (1671-1673), to show his submission, to inform him about his plans, and to ask for his blessing. The nuncio received Fr. Stanislaus and gave him his blessing. 16 249 Foundation of a New Religious Order