Lumen 2018

CHAPTER V THE END OF FATHER STANISLAUS’S LIFE P APAL A PPROBATION Father Papczynski set out on his journey to the Eternal City to obtain papal approbation for his Congregation in the company of sub-deacon Joachim of St. Anne Kozlowski. It was a strenuous jour- ney for him, full of unpleasant surprises. He fell ill very often. He had led a very strict life thus far and was simply losing his strength. In spite of his advanced age, he made the journey on foot, living on alms all the way. He had to cover long stretches of road where it was difficult to buy food or find lodgings for the night. He had to pass tracts of forest overrun by thieves and robbers. He was making his journey in late fall, during the rainy season. Hungry and cold, he walked along the slippery and muddy roads. One day, he slipped and fell into a deep bog, 1 such that his companion could not pull him out. On that occasion, he was miraculously saved by some saint of the Order of St. Francis; Fr. Stanislaus was convinced that St. An- thony rescued him from that bog. 2 Joachim of St. Anne Kozlowski, a witness to the hardships of Fr. Stanislaus’s journey, held important offices in the Congregation at a certain point. On April 19, 1690, Fr. Stanislaus appointed him, for the period of two years, to the office of the spiritual director and the director of the studies of humanities, philosophy, and moral theology at the Korabiew Forest monastery. 3 Sub-deacon Kozlowski brought Fr. Papczynski to Rome in February of 1691. 4 Italy greeted them in mourning because Pope Alexander VIII died on February 1, 1691, and the Holy See was orphaned.