115 Apostolate or Contemplation: 1677-1723 On May 16, 1769, a severe fire broke out in Goźlin, abruptly halting the vibrant development of the foundation. The fire completely consumed the church, monastery, and part of the farm buildings. At that time, the monastery housed eight religious, including six priests and two brothers. Tragically, during the fire, Fr. Alexander Mraas lost his life. After the fire, several Marians moved to adapted farm buildings. Immediately, they began collecting funds from neighboring manors and parishes and seeking devout benefactors to support the reconstruction of the church and the monastery. A new, substantial church and a brickbuilt monastery were completed in 1776. These structures were erected at quite a distance from the original burnt church, moving away from marshy, flood-prone areas near the Vistula River. Despite these challenging times, the Marian Order didn’t cease their pastoral work. The Marians in Skórzec The last foundation in Mazovia and the fourth in the Poznań diocese was the church and monastery in Skórzec. The precise circumstances surrounding its establishment are not known. It’s worth noting that at that time, alongside these four mentioned monasteries, there were two other institutions in the Eastern borderlands of Poland, about which only brief mentions have been preserved.192 However, it wasn’t a 192 It is possible that the origin of the foundation in Skórzec is connected to two Marian establishments about which we have no information. One was said to exist in Ruthenia (present-day Ukraine), and the other in Lithuania. Father Papczyński mentions the Woraszcze foundation in a letter dated August 22, 1692, as well as in a letter to Pope Innocent XII dated September 13, 1692. See Selected Writings, pp. 951. Alexander Załuski, the castellan of the Rawa region, mentioned two Marian establishments in a letter of intercession to the Roman Curia dated March 22, 1699. These establishments were located in Lithuania and Ruthenia, where the Marians were said to be zealously working inter schismaticos. The records of the Chapter of the Vilnius Diocese also list the Marian monastery in the inventory of 101 monasteries existing in 1690. See Wileńskie biskupstwo, in: Enc. Kość., Vol. 31, p. 303. Woraszcze, located in the Diocese of Lutsk in Ruthenia, was under the jurisdiction of the same diocese where Fr. John Przygodzki worked. Hence, it is possible that he knew the Marians. Both monasteries ceased to exist after the death of Fr. Papczyński. It is unknown what happened to the Marians working there, whether they left or joined the three small monasteries with eremitic cloister that had already been established. The question also arises as to whether they found spiritual fulfillment in those monasteries. They served pastorally and missionarily inter schismaticos in the borderlands. Perhaps it was with them in mind that Skórzec, a pastoral and formational establishment, was erected in 1711. The fact that three Marians were sent to Lithuania in 1715 for pastoral and missionary work, despite existing prohibitions, could serve as some confirmation of this concept. See Prot. Ord., p. 273.
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