Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

7 Foreword The vitality of a religious community is expressed in many ways, but one of the most important is returning to its origins and striving to renew its charism. The events of recent years, in particular, the Beatification and Canonization of St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński, has evoked in his spiritual sons’ a genuine and sometimes even a deeply emotional need to rediscover the origins of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. This desire was noticed and strengthened by Pope Francis, who – on the occasion of the General Chapter – on February 18, 2017, addressed its members with an appeal, urging them to remember the patrimony of the Congregation, and – in particular – to remain faithful to their Founder’s charism: “I therefore urge you to carry out this reflection with fidelity to the charism of the Founder and to the spiritual heritage of your Congregation and, at the same time, with a heart and mind open to the new needs of the people. It is true, we must go forward with the new needs, the new chal- lenges, but remember: we cannot go on without memory. It is a tension, continuously. If I want to go on without the memory of the past, of the history of the founders, of the great ones, even of the sins of the congrega- tion, I will not be able to go on. This is a rule: memory, this “deuteronomic” dimension proper to life and which must always be used when a religious congregation, the constitutions, must be updated.” The act of the Oblatio , made by St. Stanislaus on December 11, 1670, occupies a special place in this historical and also charismatic memory of the Congregation. On that day, a Saint initiated his community. Thus, our evoking this event, its cir- cumstances and the contents of the Oblatio becomes this “return to the origins,” to which the Church has been encouraging all institutes of conse- crated life for many years. Documents of the 1st Theological Symposium of the Marian Fathers’ School of Spirituality assembles articles prepared for the symposium, which was planned for October 20-21, 2020 in Licheń, as part of the Gen- eral Convention of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers. Unfortunately, the pandemic, which affected the whole world at that time, made it im- possible for the authors of the articles to meet and to discuss the prof- fered issues. However, this did not stop us from publishing these materials. Furthermore, with time, it was possible to add to the previously planned