MARIANS IN 1670-1788 62 the Founder and the spirit of the Marian heritage, especially on the young candidates. Therefore, they organized philosophy and moral theology studies at the Cenacle on several occasions. Unfortunately, the surviving documentation from those years regarding the Cenacle and the monastery is minimal. Wars, national uprisings, and fires have damaged the historical Marian legacy. So, we don’t know much about the life, work, and spirit of the Marians in Góra, but the swampy terrain, humidity, and miserable conditions did not favor a stable monastic life. The confrères assigned to the Cenacle arrived here with great reluctance and resistance, and on arrival, they suffered from humiditatem et aegritudinem.22 After the death of Fr. Papczyński, the once-drained and improved marshes turned back into swampland. Numerous attempts to drain the area and save the deteriorating buildings proved futile. Water inundated the foundations, the church’s floor, and Fr. Papczyński’s tomb. It hindered communication between the monastery, the church, the farm, and the institutions in the town. During the meetings of the General Chapters, there were repeated urgent directives: to renovate and salvage the monastery and the church. However, the Marians couldn’t manage the flooding of the buildings. The state of the Marian institution is evident in the decision of the Chapter in 1734, which appointed Br. Truskolawski to renovate, prepare at least three rooms for habitation, and gather materials for the facility’s expansion. In 1737, the General Chapter initiated a fundraising effort to save the Cenacle. Since no progress had been made due to insurmountable difficulties, the then saintly general superior, Fr. Casimir Wyszyński, personally arrived at the Cenacle. He voluntarily assumed the role of local superior for this small community and resided there, astonishing even the Marian chronicler, who noted: “Officium presidentis monasterii gorensis, ipse libenter suscepit.”23 The situation at the site was so catastrophic that the Father General was the only priest who, along with two brethren, Casimir Bonikowski and Nicholas of St. Martin, permanently resided at the Cenacle. This was due to the lack of suitable accommodations and the strong reluctance of the Marians to live in this facility. Fr. Wyszyński, after taking up residence there, initiated, with the help of family funds, fellow brethren, hired laborers, 22 Positio, Wyszyński, p. 146. 23 Ibid., p. 147; cf. PAPW, f. 57v.
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