MARIANS IN 1670-1788 110 wealthy, and influential man who, in his capacity as secretary to King John Sobieski, was capable of opposing even Bishop Stefan Wierzbowski’s decision. Fr. Broliński, although a devotee of the Virgin Mary, did not accept the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, which the Marian Fathers revered and proclaimed before the Church officially declared it a dogma.177 For this reason, as he claimed, he also opposed the Marian Order. However, it seems that he disagreed with the foundation of the Marian Fathers in Goźlin not so much because of the Immaculate Conception but rather because he did not want — usually a cause of disputes between diocesan priests and religious orders — for any monks to appear in his parish and undertake various apostolic works, attract the faithful, hear confessions, and preach sermons. His resistance and hostility towards the Marian Fathers were so unyielding that only divine intervention could break them. And so it happened. On the night of June 30, 1699, Fr. Broliński had a rather strange, painful, and terrifying mystical experience, during which he was made aware that it was a punishment for his attitude towards the mystery of the Immaculate Conception and his hostility towards the Marian Fathers.178 This mystical experience was so profound and powerful that from being an opponent of the Immaculate Conception, he instantly became its supporter and worshipper. He also changed his attitude towards the Marian Fathers, transforming from their foe into their supporter. However, before that, in the Marian church on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, he confessed that he had undergone a great transformation and delivered a sermon on the Immaculate Conception. He subsequently wrote down this sermon and an account of his mystical experience as a testimony of his conversion and faith in the Immaculate Conception and warning to others. He placed it in the Marian archives and promised to publish it.179 The credibility of this information was confirmed by witnesses who testified that they had personally seen and read the document in the archives.180 This incident removed all difficulties and was an impulse to start extensive construction work on the church, monastery, and farm 177 This was claimed by S. Sydry, O. Stanisław, p. 223; cf. Positio, Papczyński, p. 332. 178 Wyszyński, Stróż, pp. 102-104; S. Sydry, O. Stanisław, pp. 223-224. 179 Wyszyński, Stróż, pp. 102-104; APS 10, f. 352r-352v. Testimony of Father Isidore Taudt. 180 Wyszyński, Stróż, p. 104. The conversion of Fr. Broliński and his transformation were
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