Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

16 matter that he refers to, namely: “...I hear various opinions coming from different people, and even from prudent men, about my actual abandon- ment of my former vocation,” ( Apology ..., in: Historical Writings of Blessed Stanislaus Papczyński , Stockbridge, 2007, p. 31). Thus, he composes the Apology as a defensive speech to refute these opinions, and he contests the specific allegations of his accusers, in accordance with the principles described in his Prodromus Reginae Artium [Messenger of the Queen of Arts]: “Defensio bona erit, si innocentia personae delatae ad iudicium os- tendetur, si crimen refelletur, aut negabitur, aut alleviabitur,” [the defense is only good if it succeeds in proving the innocence of the accused, if it either overturns the allegations of a crime or negates or weakens them]. 9 It must be understood that he mentions nothing of the departure from the Piarists in the context of his intention to found a new congregation – because there were no such allegations – no matter when the idea of a new Institute ap- peared in his heart. A completely different point of view is found in FDR, into which our holy Father Founder also inserted the Oblatio . This work is not polemical. Throughout the narrative, it has the character of a positive presentation of one’s spiritual experiences and a chronological description of events. The story is permeated with his firm conviction of faith that God Him- self leads him on such a path which included the necessity to abandon his first vocation in order to become the father and founder of a new religious community, should it even go through disputes, tensions and accusations, consequently leading to his departure from the Piarists. In short: to found the Marian Order, he had to leave the Piarist Order. This is the perspec- tive of Divine Providence. As everything indicates, Saint Stanislaus Pap- czyński does not mention in any of his petitions for permission to leave the Piarist Order that he intends to establish a new Congregation. It is true that the first three petitions have not survived: the first was written around mid-August 1699, the second, around mid-October 1699, and the third, on December 20, 1699. The reply to the third request has been partially preserved; however, this document does not mention it, either. The fourth petition of November 22, 1670, which has survived until today, refers only to the Papal brief, which imparts to the Superior General of the Piarists the privilege of granting an indult of departure to those Piarists who do 9 Since this work was not translated into English, we provide the original Latin text from: S. Papczyński, Prodromus Reginae Artium, critical edition by C. Krzyżanowski, Varsaviae pp. 107-108 (English translation is mine – MB).