Saint Stanislaus Papczynski — The Life and Writings

August 1669, Fr. Stanislaus sent a request to the superior general asking to be released fromhis vows and the oath of perseverance in the Piarist Order. Meanwhile, an important document was issued by the Holy See, a document of great consequence to the Piarist community and its future. Pope Clement IX, in his brief Ex iniuncto nobis of October 23, 1669, restored to the Piarists their previous rights and privileges, and raised their community to the rank of a reli- gious order with solemn vows. After this act, each member was obliged to take vows again if he wished to remain in the commu- nity. Thus, Fr. Papczynski and others were offered the opportu- nity to separate from the order simply by not professing these solemn vows. In light of this provision, on December 20, 1669, Fr. Stanislaus sent another request to be released from the obli- gations of the simple vows which he had taken. Assured by ex- perts in church law that, in the aftermath of the Pope’s document, the simple vows that he had taken were no longer valid and the Piarist superior was no longer his superior, Fr. Pa- pczynski placed himself directly under the jurisdiction of the bishop of kraków [Bishop AndrewTrzebicki] inwhose territory he had resided since September 1669. The Test: Continuing Difficulties and Persecution Father Stanislaus’ act of placing himself under the protection of the local bishop was misinterpreted by his community and exposed him to a new wave of persecutions. On January 8, 1670, on the orders of the provincial, Fr. Stanislaus was forcibly removed from the Piarists’ house at kazimierz and sent first to Podoliniec, and then to Prievidza in Hungary, where he was confined to the monastery for almost three months. He was released only on March 22, at the intervention of Bishop Nicholas Oborski, the auxiliary bishop of kraków, and ten days later was returned to the kazimierz house. On June 7, 1670, Papczynski submited yet another request to be released fromhis simple vows, but this time he sent it to the Holy See. Pope Clement X, in his brief Cum felicis recordationis of October 18, 1670, S AINT S TANISLAUS P APCzyNSkI 14