242 A conviction, shared by many, emerged from our debates that an ungrounded juxtaposition between Blessed Stanislaus and Blessed George, present at certain times in our history, has been overcome in the course of our Founder’s beatifi - cation and the 100th anniversary of renewal. Father Matulewicz never believed himself to be the Founder of a new congregation. Instead, he considered his most important task in life to save the Marian Order. Blessed George’s exceptional role consisted in rescuing Fr. Papczyński’s work in the Church and prophetically interpreting the Congregation’s mission in the light of the existing signs of the times. As we more profoundly study the persons and legacy of faith of our Father Founder and Father Renovator, the better we see the charismatic continuity, unity, and the same spirit, which makes Fr. Stanislaus’s charism shine ever stronger when it is being read through the prism of Blessed George’s thought and work. During our historical and theological symposium on the 100th anniversary of our Congregation’s renewal, we will refl ect on Blessed George’s contribution to the Marian charism. According to some members of the Congregation, the time has come to bring back the white habit. The debate, which was quite emotional, proved how highly sensitive and important this matter is. It was pointed out that the wish of the confreres who desire to wear the white habit in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, to which the Marians were obligated by their Father Founder, cannot be belittled. In the ensuing debate on this topic, there were voices defi nitely opposing the idea of returning to the white habits. Also, a concern was expressed that the re-introduction of the habit creates the risk of an unnecessary rift within the Congregation and may cause our religious life to come down to merely an external sign. It was further argued that the essence of the religious life lies in witnessing through the power of the spirit, to which Blessed George encourages us; in the light of this fact, the matter of a habit becomes secondary. However, the matter of our attire will defi nitely be a topic of discussion at the future Chapters, because certain confreres have already submitted appropriate proposals or are planning to do so soon. This Convention demonstrated a great need that exists in the Congregation for a profound, ongoing refl ection on the life and charism of our Founder and his timeliness for the modern world. It is to be followed by our fi nding a response to the question: how faithful are we to our Father Founder’s legacy and to our patrimony? The availability of an ever growing number of source materials and historical works on the period in our history from the founding until the renovation and afterwards, is greatly facilitating this refl ection, although some topics still require study and deliberation. It seems that there is still no comprehensive works about the shaping of our charism and the manner in which it was understood by
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