17 ??? Foreword On June 5, 2016, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Pope Francis canonized Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński, Founder of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. This event was of the utmost importance for the recognition of St. Stanislaus’ holiness of life, but it is also a signpost, as it were, for his spiritual sons and an indication that the lifestyle that he defined for that Congregation leads to holiness. The act of canonization is also important for the entire Catholic Church. It is, in a sense, an ecclesiastical summary of St. Stanislaus’ life. The highest authority in the Church recognized him as a model of Christian life for all Christ’s faithful and indicated him as one of the many reference points for Catholics in today’s world, which is marked by turmoil, rapid secularization, and the persecution of Christians. Although the canonization took place more than 300 years after St. Stanislau’s death, for a believer, time is not of great importance: it belongs to God and His Providence. And if the example of the Saint and his intercession were given to us only today, it is because – by the Will of God – “his time” has come now. It is in this context that the initiative of collecting and releasing in one volume all extant written works of St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary in their original language, (that is Latin – the language of the entire Catholic Church) should be regarded. We know that our Saint was highly proficient in this language. Moreover, as a professor of rhetoric, he used Latin for teaching and he also published his most important books in this language. Suffice it to say, for many years Polish colleges employed the rhetoric textbook of his authorship for teaching, and outstanding figures of the period of at least two centuries (i.e. 17th and 18th) learned from it as well. Among his other works is TemplumDei Mysticum, first released in 1675, during his lifetime and again posthumously in 1741, which is an excellent treatise and which St. Stanislaus Papczyński
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