43 Beginnings: 1670-1677 his departure from the Order.66 Despite these difficulties and obstacles, Fr. Stanislaus did not waver from his intention to establish the Society of the Immaculate Conception. He firmly believed that Divine Providence was watching over the entire endeavor and that the Holy Spirit had shaped the idea in his mind; thus, it was of Divine inspiration. Although he received significant support from well-wishers who “praised this intention and wished him the best of luck,” including the apostolic nuncio, a certain bishop, and renowned religious, he still encountered numerous challenges. He couldn’t find a suitable place to live with his brethren, and there was a lack of tested candidates willing to join him in this venture. Although both lay and clergy candidates applied, Fr. Stanislaus did not accept them, the reason being — as he admitted — “I feared joining them to myself on account of their untested virtue as well as on account of the lack of a sufficient place [for the foundation].”67 The lack of ecclesiastical approval was also an obstacle because, as mentioned earlier, Bishop Wierzbowski was making his acceptance contingent on the approval of the Apostolic See. At that time, Father Franciszek Wilga, the superior of the Camaldolese Order, suggested to him that, while awaiting diocesan approval, he should follow the example of other saintly founders and, with a suitable place, gather a few candidates who would begin monastic life with him. This was how the Jesuits, Carthusians, Camaldolese, Cistercians, and others came into existence. Following this idea, Fr. Stanislaus turned his attention to a hermitage in the Korabiew Forest, where a twenty-nine-year-old Stanislaus Krajewski, a cleric in lower orders, resided with a few companions. Approached by Fr. Stanislaus, Krajewski responded positively: “he wholeheartedly agreed to the plan, and offered me both his place and himself. He also convinced a second man, his companion, to [join in] this plan.”68 Soon after, Krajewski came to Lubocza, and there, on July 4, 1673, he put on a white habit, and Fr. Stanislaus “received from him his Oblatio 66 Apologia was written around 1671, See Selected Writings. 67 S. Papczyński, The Foundation of the House of Recollections, 9, in: Selected Writings, p. 905; cf. Positio, Papczyński, p. 333. 68 S. Papczyński, The Foundation of the House of Recollections, 11, in: Selected Writings, p. 906; APS 10 f. 339r-340r. evidence of Father Isydor Taudt.
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