Lumen 2018

age of St. Stanislaus Kostka and right next to it — a detention center for juveniles, and a vocational school. There is also a church under the title of Blessed George Matulewicz in Waleriany. There are sev- eral elementary schools and, at the Marian Forest itself, a cultural center, a public library, a high school, a pharmacy, a branch of a bank, police barracks, a post office, various stores, a railway station, and a bus station. There is also an electric network, a water, sewer, and a telephone system. 99 On Sunday, May 2, 1993, around eight o’clock in the evening, the beautiful church at the Marian Forest, registered as a historical relic (Class I), stood in flames. The flames first appeared in the small tower and the fire quickly spread to the rest of the building. It com- pletely destroyed the Rococo illusionistic altars, along with the icon of the Blessed Mother above the main altar, from which only a gilded frame was saved. The Stations of the Cross, examples of illu- sionism in painting, were burned. Two paintings dating back to the 17th century — an image of St. Michael the Archangel and an image of St. Anne and Joachim— also were burned. The tabernacle with the Holy Eucharist and the old Turkish cope kept in the sacristy survived. The roof was entirely destroyed, and 90 percent of the in- side of the church was damaged in the fire. Within several minutes, the first units of the fire brigade arrived. The fight with the flames lasted all night. 100 The firemen managed to rescue the new monastery under construction and the service buildings. There is no doubt that the fire was a result of arson. A few days later, some untrained hand wrote these words in charcoal on the church wall next to the main entrance: “This is a church that will not rule.” There was someone out there, for whom this church was a target. The fire at the church in the Marian Forest was an irreparable loss for the entire Congregation of Marian Fathers. The most painful was the loss of the miraculous icon before which Fr. Stanis- S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 274