Lumen 2018

Grace. She was conceived contrary to the order of nature, just as she conceived God. 24 Father Papczynski also discussed this truth in his sermons written at the time of his affiliation with the Piarists. He spoke of “the exceptional (and free from original stain) Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” He preached these sermons and had them published, but, alas, they did not survive to our times. 25 Father Stanislaus also left manuscripts (probably from the Marian period) of prayers and songs about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but they were lost, too. 26 Undoubtedly, the general atmosphere and the fact that the faithful opened their hearts to this mystery made the proclamation of the truth about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary easier. An expression of such openness was King Ladislaus IV’s ini- tiative in 1637 to create organizational cadres in the form of the Knights of the Order of the Immaculate Conception. According to the statutes of this “order,” there were to be 72 brothers (knights) in Poland and 24 abroad, with the king as master at the head. At that time, similar orders of knighthood existed in Spain. The brothers were to make a vow to serve and defend the honor of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Church of Rome as well as “to defend the Kingdom of Poland and its benefit.” The project was not realized because it was condemned by adherents to other denominations and by the nobility, who were afraid of threats. The project was also re- jected by the Diet in 1638 with the argument that the country needed political thought more than an elite knighthood. 27 Although the king was focused more on politics than religion at that time (for he was not a deeply religious person), even this unsuccessful initiative demonstrates how present and alive the truth about the Immaculate Conception was in Polish society. Pastoral Activity Father Papczynski combined the efforts to found the Congrega- tion of Marians Fathers with the pastoral work at the home of the S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 252