St Stan Illustrated Story

53 T he Superior General of the Piarists, Fr. Cosmas Chiara, re- ceived Fr. Stanislaus cordially and treated him with the ut- most hospitality during his stay of several weeks at the Mother House in Rome. After hearing the arguments of the Saint, Fr. Chiara at once saw and admitted that his conduct in Poland had been fully justified, and permitted him to make preparations for the return journey to Poland. However, shortly before Fr. Papczynski was due to leave, Fr. Chiara received the report of the Provincial Chapter held at Podolinec, which upheld and even strengthened the previous accusations against Fr. Stani- slaus as a dangerous “firebrand” in the Province. On the basis of this re- port, Fr. Cosmas revoked Fr. Stanislaus’s permission and sent him to Nikolsburg, the seat in Moravia of the German Province of the Piarists. A few months later, in the spring of 1668, the Nikolsburg Provincial Superior permitted Fr. Stanislaus to return to Poland. His return caused fresh ferment in the province, and in 1669 at the request of theApostolic Nuncio, the Provincial Superior and his assistants examined the accusa- tions against Fr. Stanislaus and declared in a Memorandum that his be- havior was not that of a “firebrand” but due rather to “a kind of zeal.” This “zeal,” however, continued to meet with opposition from the superiors and a good many members of the province (particularly those who were not Poles). Father Stanislaus became convinced that his efforts were fruitless, and being unable in conscience to accept the existing state of affairs in his community (as he was later to explain in detail in his “Apologia”), he asked to be released from the Congre- gation. In his concern for the welfare of his own soul and the good of the province, he saw no alternative.