MARIANS IN 1670-1788 58 about Fr. Papczyński: “About 18 years ago, a religious order priest named Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary departed from the Piarists on the strength of an apostolic brief. He humbly refused the offers of various prelatures by friendly bishops but let himself be guided into the wilderness by the Spirit of God [...]. There, by the power of the decree of our Warsaw Consistory, he erected the church at his own expense under the title of the Immaculate Conception of the Most B.V.M. and St. Michael the Archangel. Having welcomed a few companions, he led such a strict and exemplary life that we felt inclined to transfer him to our hereditary city of New Jerusalem.”11 The Dominican nun mentioned above, Sister Otolia, gave a similar testimony: “Knowing the holiness of this man of God secluded in the dark forest and upon hearing about him still more and more, His Excellency Bishop of Poznan [...] called him forth from the Forest to Góra to show the world exemplary holiness and to choose freely from the churches established there.”12 In his efforts to establish the Passion Sanctuary in Góra, Bishop Wierzbowski brought together seven different religious orders, each with its own unique charism and spirituality. Among them were the Marians, known for their distinctive charism. They promoted the veneration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, engaged in various forms of penance and prayers for the souls suffering in Purgatory, and lived a penitential and ascetic way of life. In a decree dated April 30, 1677, Bishop Wierzbowski entrusted Fr. Papczyński with a small monastery and the chapel of St. Martin, and he also gave the Dominican Sisters the church of the Last Supper, known as the Cenacle, along with their monastery constructed in 1674.13 According to Bishop Wierzbowski’s original plans, Dominicans were to live near the Sisters, in the House of 11 S. Sydry, O. Stanisław, p. 150; also see: Positio, Papczyński, pp. 422-423; Georgio Navikevicius, Appendix, pp. 43-44, in: Same Author, Stanislao di Gesù Maria Papczyński (1631-1701). Scolopio e Fondatore della Congregazione dei Padri Mariani, Roma 1960, pp. XIX + 244 + Appendix, pp. 95 — containing documents, [afterwards: Navikevicius, Appendix]. 12 Quoted after: S. Sydry, O. Stanisław, p. 150. 13 There are scarce accounts regarding the chapel of St. Martin initially given to the Marian Order, but this is mentioned in the document Seconda erezione ... della Congregazione of February 21, 1687. See: Positio, Papczynski, pp. 422-424, “Ac Primus quidem sacellum Divi Martini cum certo fundo ei attribueramus, deinde tamen hoc Religiosis Fratribnus Ordinis S. Dominici [...] per eum resignato accesso in compensationemistius resignationis ac cessionis Coenaculum Dopmini cum fundo in nostra Intromissione, ac declatione limitum specificato”. See Navikevicius, Appendix, pp. 43-44.
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