11 The Rule of the Ten Virtues was something new and important for the Polish religiosity in that it expressed the Marian devotion in a new manner. It was not only the matter of imploring Mary, expressing one’s tender feelings for her, but it displayed Mary as a model for imitation in a concrete way based upon the Gospels passages that mention her life. The Rule shows Mary as the one who goes before all the followers of Christ, the one who leads the people of God on this road. Thus, this is a mature, deeply Christocentric and ecclesiological Marian spirituality. For this reason, we are glad to welcome at the Shrine of Our Lady in Licheƒ, Poland, the community of the Annunciate Sisters. Living by The Rule of the Ten Virtues of the B.V.M., the community will enrich the Church in Poland with its original Marian spirituality. Even if some of the Rule’s expressions sound archaic today, the text is nonetheless lively and relevant. In 1930, when presenting the new Constitution, Fr. Francis Bučys, Superior General of the Marians, aptly wrote about it: “Notwithstanding that now it does not possess the force of law, it should nevertheless be the delightful spiritual nourishment for our community, so that it might develop in us the 10 virtues beloved by the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
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