Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

178 In 1723, when the new Marian Constitutions, adopted to the Rule of the Ten Virtues , were approved, Father Casimir, [while on pilgrimage,] met Fr. Joachim Kozłowski in the Eternal City. The latter related to him the sto- ry of the dispersal of the Marian Order and the role played in it by the nov- ice Józef Wyszyński—Casimir’s brother. Moved by this account, the young pilgrim declared: “I wish to repair what my brother ruined; please, your Reverence, grant me the [religious] habit” 7 and on November 18, 1723, in the Church of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr, he received the Marian garb and the religious name of Casimir of St. Joseph. This fact is all the more surprising and significant because theWyszyński family did not sympathize with the founder and the Marian Order, and Fr. Casimir would mention later “a noble family that was opposed to the Servant of God and the Congregation (...). This is a known and evident matter, because a member of this family [that is, Fr. Casimir—J.R.] was the postulator for the cause of the Servant of God at the Holy See.” 8 Years later, in a letter written in 1752 to his brother Valerian, Fr. Casimir ex- plained his decision to join the Marians: “Like a second Saul, I came to this Congregation which one of our own, namely our brother Joseph, had attacked. The Blessed Mother said to me: ‘Francis [Fr. Casimir’s baptismal name—JR], why do you persecute me?’ Not daring to kick against the goad, I felt impelled to take the habit in Rome.” 9 This analogy with Saul’s adven- ture at Damascus and Mary’s identifying herself with the Order founded by Fr. Stanislaus prove how deeply Fr. Casimir was touched by the account about his brother and his negative impact on the Order founded under the title of Mary Immaculate, whom he venerated. Already in the novitiate, Fr. Casimir showed himself as a fervent reli- gious and a follower and promoter of Fr. Stanislaus’s sanctity. He was also a man of great faith, completely devoted to the matters of the Order, for whose internal renewal he zealously endeavored and encouraged by his personal example of life. Father Casimir also was a man of great wisdom and piety, which con- tributed to the spiritual and numerical growth of the Congregation. During 7 Testimony given by Michael Wyszyński about his brother , in: Najstarsze świadectwa o Słudze Bożym o. Kazimierzu Wyszyńskim , transl. and ed. by Z. Proczek, Warszawa–Stock- bridge 2005, p. 23. 8 K. Wyszyński, Żywot Czcigodnego Sługi Bożego Ojca Stanisława od Jezusa Maryi Pap- czyńskiego, in: Stróż duchowego dziedzictwa marianów. Wybór pism o. Kazimierza Wyszyńskie- go , transl. and ed. by Z. Proczek, Warszawa–Stockbridge 2004, p. 145. 9 Father Casimir Wyszyński, His Life and Mission , Stockbridge 2020, p. 21.