The Renewal of the Order redone 2018

21 Introduction enrolled Rev. Buczys in the novitiate. All this took place in the pres- ence of the Superior General of the Order, Wincenty Sekowski. 51 Preserved documents leave no doubt on this subject. It was the Bishop and not the Superior General who performed the act of enrolling the two applicants to the Order. The situation was extraor- dinary. It was not the general rule that was being followed, but a par- ticular decision of the Holy See. Bishop Ruszkiewicz was Rome’s representative in resolving this matter. Rome’s only restriction was that it should happen after securing the approval of the Order’s Superior General. 52 Approval of the constitutions and of the reformed Congregation Now it was time to amend the constitutions, to obtain letters of rec- ommendation from the Bishops Ordinary, and to strive for the growth of the Institute. Most of these efforts became the responsibility of Rev. Matulewicz who was also designated by the General as Novice Master. Riding the train to St. Petersburg, Rev. Matulewicz and Rev. Buczys were planning their lives. They decided to renounce all employment outside of the Academy so as to be able to learn monastic law and to deepen their spiritual life. At the outset, they paid a visit to Bishop Stefan Denisewicz. They informed him of the effort that had been ini- tiated and showed him the documents. The Bishop “praised everything and promised his help and support,” Rev. Matulewicz related, but when they asked for release of Rev. Buczys from his duties in the Metropolitan Seminary, he refused to agree. Rev. Matulewicz also had too many duties: he taught dogmatic theology and temporarily also sociology in the Academy and taught sociology in the Seminary. 51 See Document 22. 52 A participant in the act, Rev. Franciszek Buczys stated erroneously in his memoirs written 40 years later and others have repeated after him that it was Father Wincenty Sekowski in the presence of Bishop Kazimierz Ruszkiewicz who accepted the vows from Rev. J. Matulewicz and admitted Rev. Buczys to the novitiate. ( Ricordi ..., [in:] Summarium ..., p. 60 [in:] Positio.