Saint Stanisław Papczyński

Stanislaus Papczyński, MIC (18 May 1631 – 17 September 1701), born Jan Papczyński and in religion Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary, was a Polish Catholic priest who founded the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, the first Polish religious order for men. He is also widely remembered as a prolific religious writer, including works such as The Mystical Temple of God. He was beatified on 16 September 2007 in Poland by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on the behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to him on 21 January 2016, which allowed him to be canonized. On 15 March 2016 a consistory of cardinals scheduled his canonization to take place on 5 June 2016. It was celebrated in Saint Peter's Square. Jan (John) Papczyński was born on 18 May 1631, in the village of Podegrodzie – now near Stary Sącz – as the youngest of the eight children of Tomasz (Thomas) Papczyński and Zofia (Sophia) Tacikowska. His father was a local blacksmith and also served as the village bailiff. As a youngster, he cared for his father's herd of sheep and came to know the countryside well. Stanislaus' early experiences in school did not foreshadow his future career as an academic. He had difficulty with studies, nevertheless he mastered his temperament, overcame material problems associated with his social standing, and advanced in studies, graduating from one school to another: in Podegrodzie, then in Nowy Sącz. At the age of fifteen he entered the Jesuit College at Jarosław, the Piarist College of Podoliniec (now Podolínec, Slovakia) in 1649, and in 1650 the Jesuit College of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), from which he was forced to flee due to an attack by Cossack troops. At the age of twenty-three he completed his general and philosophical studies at the Jesuit College of Rawa Mazowiecka. He is described as a tall, slender young man, with a swarthy complexion, tall forehead and deep, pensive eyes gazing from under his eyebrows.