Lumen 2018

55 about Thomas’s children from his first and second marriages. Stanis- laus was the youngest child of Thomas and Sophia Papka. 53 Stanislaus Papczynski’s parents were quite well-to-do people. They owned two houses and a piece of land in Nowy Sacz. 54 Since they both had great devotion to Blessed Kinga, they moved to Podegrodzie, about eight kilometers away, in order to live closer to where her earthly remains were deposed, i.e., to the monastery of the Sisters of St. Clare in Stary Sacz, three kilometers away from the center of Podegrodzie. 55 Both parents were very religious, but the mother, in particular, was a woman of great piety. She belonged, among others, to the Sodality of the Rosary, the Sodality of St. Anne, and to the Third Order of St. Francis. 56 Religious fraternities and sodalities were extremely popular in Poland at that time. In the decanate of Nowy Sacz alone, to which the parish of Podegrodzie belonged, there existed seventeen such organizations in the 17 th century. 57 Father Papczynski’s mother distinguished herself by the virtue of patience. She had ample opportunity to practice it amidst vari- ous illnesses, afflictions, and persecution. When one of her neigh- bors named Andrew gravely insulted her and severely beat her up, she forgave him everything. When her son, John, learned about this after he had returned home from his studies, he intended to punish the brute in order to defend his mother’s honor. But, being the magnanimous person that she was, she talked him out of it. Later, that neighbor, moved by their goodness, became a friend of the family. 58 Sophia courageously bore her husband’s choleric temperament and impetuosity, which manifested themselves not only in his words, but also in his actions. 59 She was patient and, in spite of numerous adversities, she raised her children in the spirit of sincere piety, so much so that, later, all of them became shining examples of how to live a life of holiness. 60 Stanislaus Papczynski’s Childhood and Youth