To mark the 300th anniversary of the death of Bl. Stanislaus Papczyński, the Founder of the Marians, members of the Congregation gathered for special events overseas and in the US this September. Events included a September 20-23 convocation in Poland for young Marians from throughout the world, and a September 15-16 symposium on the Founder’s life and legacy in Washington, DC. The actual anniversary date of Bl. Stanislaus’s death was September 17.

The convocation for young Marians in Poland was held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lichen, which is operated by the Marians. It drew approximately 120 young Marians from various countries. Those attending included young priests and brothers, seminarians, novices, and postulants. The celebration concluded at Bl. Stanislaus’s tomb in Gora Kalwaria, with Superior General, Very Rev. Mark Garrow, MIC, presiding at a Mass, which was attended by around 150 Marians and several hundred lay people.

“The convocation celebrated the memory of our Founder,” said Fr. Garrow. “We did that by reflecting on our Marian vocation, charism, and role in the Church. During the meeting, some of our prominent Marians also shared their vocation stories with our younger members.”

Around 30 Marians gathered for the symposium in Washington, DC, which was held at the Marian Scholasticate. Highlights included an opening Mass in nearby Brookeville, MD, at which Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, DC, presided, and presentations at the Scholasticate on the spirituality and teachings of the Marian Founder by Fr. Shaun O’Connor, MIC, of Pittsfield, MA, and Fr. Tadeusz Rogalewski, MIC, of Warsaw, Poland.

Due to restrictions on air travel following the September 11 attacks, one the symposium’s presenters, Fr. Casimir Kryzyzanowski, MIC, of Rome, was unable to attend.