prodromus reginae artium 1266 About the Marians The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception is a worldwide community of about 500 priests and brothers who have been serving Christ and the Church for more than 350 years. Founded in Poland in 1670 by St. Stanislaus Papczynski, the Marians were the first Catholic men’s order still in existence to give witness to Mary’s Immaculate Conception by bearing her title. As the years passed, the Marians continued to spread beyond the borders of Poland. However, during the 19th century, the Marian Congregation’s very existence was being challenged by a flood of political oppression. By 1909, the Congregation was reduced to a single elderly priest, Fr. Vincent Sękowski. At the moment of extinction, God sent Fr. George Matulaitis-Matulewicz who, as a child, was spiritually formed and educated by the Marians. He undertook renewing the religious order. As an educator and social reformer, Fr. George – now Blessed George – renovated the Congregation of Marians in 1910, calling on its members “to serve where the need is greatest.” It was a period of restoration and great renewal for the Marians. Known as the Renovator of the Congregation, Blessed George served the Church as bishop of Vilnius, archbishop and apostolic delegate, and founder of two religious congregations of women. He challenged his fellow brothers in Christ to “Respond to the signs of your times ...” and “see how the gospel is touching humanity.” The principal apostolic goals of the Marians are to promote and foster devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the mystery of her Immaculate Conception, to aid the Holy Souls detained in Purgatory with God’s abundant grace and merciful love, and to assist diocesan priests in their pastoral ministry and catechetical formation offered to the faithful. Faithful to Christ and His Church, and attentive to the spiritual needs of God’s people, the Marians have been spreading the salutary message and devotion to the Divine Mercy since 1941.
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