Lumen 2018

during the remainder of his visit, and when it was over, he saw the bishop to the door. 194 The Shepherd of Poznan was very eager to secure the legal status of Fr. Stanislaus’s institute, therefore, he continued to encourage him to try to obtain final approbation of the Holy See for his Congrega- tion. Father Papczynski’s efforts that he had begun in 1674 were at a standstill, and it was necessary to set things on a new course. For the time being, it was not possible to obtain approbation of the Holy See on the basis of the Rule of Life , because the decree issued by the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 did not allow for the approval of religious institutes with rules different from those already in exis- tence. 195 However, it was possible to try to obtain approbation from the Ordinary who had the authority to found an institute with the legal status of a hermitage in the territory of his diocese. 196 At Fr. Papczynski’s request, Bishop Wierzbowski began a legal procedure in 1678, which was to lead to approbation of the Con- gregation of Marian Fathers in his diocese. First, on June 17, 1678, a hearing 197 took place, attended by all those who were interested in approbation for this congregation. Since, due to Bishop Wierz- bowski’s absence, the hearing was chaired by Bishop Swiecicki (favor- ably disposed to Fr. Stanislaus), Fr. Stanislaus’s adversaries demanded that the hearing be postponed until the time of Bishop Wierzbowski’s return. The hearing attended by the Ordinary took place on November 16, 1678, but this time Fr. Stanislaus’s adver- saries did not come, and the bishop postponed the hearing again. 198 Finally, the hearing took place on April 21, 1679, and, although Fr. Papczynski’s opponents did not report again, the verdict was issued by default. Thus the Congregation of Marian Fathers was erected as a congregation with simple vows on diocesan statutes. 199 In the document issued by Bishop Wierzbowski, the Marians are described as “hermits of the second degree.” The bishop stated that he took them under his personal protection, placed them under the protection of his successors to the office of the Bishop of Poznan, approved their own statutes, and appointed Fr. Papczynski the Su- 305 Foundation of a New Religious Order