Lumen 2018

parish archives. They disappeared, along with the certificates of bap- tism from before 1651. The certificate, which was issued by the Bishop’s Curia in Cracow in 1772 to satisfy the requirements of the Information Process 80 , also disappeared. Even though the original of Fr. Stanislaus’s certificate of Confir- mation did not survive, a few pieces of indirect evidence did. The most reliable one comes from an attorney by the name Giovanni Ale- giani who wrote from Rome to Fr. Louis Zapalkowicz, MIC, Postu- lator General in Poland, on August 21, 1770. Alegiani stated in his letter that Fr. Papczynski’s baptismal certificate was missing from the acts of the process. 81 The Postulator obtained an appropriate certifi- cate from the Cracow Curia, which confirmed not only the fact of Fr. Papczynski’s Baptism, but also his Confirmation and his legitimate birth ( legitimus ortus ). Later, in his letter of November 5, 1772, Ale- giani wrote back to the Postulator to confirm that he had received the certificate, that such a certificate was sufficient and no new cer- tificates were necessary. 82 The fact that Fr. Papczynski received the Sacrament of Confirma- tion is further confirmed by Synopsis Vitae Venerabilis Servi Dei of 1772, where the Roman author claims that Fr. Stanislaus did receive this sacrament at an appropriate time. 83 Papczynski must have received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Otherwise, he would not have been admitted to the first tonsure, which preceded the Minor Orders in 1656. We do not know, how- ever, when, where, and from whose hands he received this sacra- ment. 84 A Worthy Son of Pious Parents Papczynski was raised by his parents in great piety 85 until he was fourteen years old. The parents received him, their eighth child, with love. This parental love brought fruit later in the life and work of the future teacher, priest, and founder of a religious order. In this S TANISLAUS P APCZYNSKI 60