Italy, Rome: Bishop Władysław Blin becomes an Associate Member of our Congregation

The new vir aggregatus
of the Congregation

On December 8, 2009, during the celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception at the General House of the Congregation of Marian Fathers in Rome, Władysław Blin, Bishop of Vitebsk, was admitted to the Congregation as an Associate Member (vir aggregatus).

Before the Superior General, Fr. Jan Mikołaj Rokosz, MIC, Bishop Władysław Blin vowed to fulfill his duties defined by the Constitutions of our Congregation and to live out its spirituality in his service for the Church. His liturgical admission to the Congregation of Marian Fathers was a part of the closing of the Jubilee Year of the 100th anniversary of Renewal and Reform of the Congregation of Marian Fathers.

By the power of its own law, the Congregation of Marian Fathers admits into its midst men who wish to join spiritually in the fulfillment of the Congregation’s mission in the Church. Those men receive the title of Associate Member and share in spiritual fruits of prayers and works of the Congregation’s members. According to the Congregation’s charism, the duties of an Associate Member include spreading of particular devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculately Conceived and praying fervently for Poor Souls in Purgatory.

Coat of arms of
the Bishop of Vitebsk

In his speech, Bishop Blin stated that his priestly vocation was formed under the influence of the prominent Marians. The Shrine of Our Lady in Licheń has always been the site of his spiritual growth. From his early childhood, Władysław made pilgrimages to this shrine, coming from the nearby town of Ślezina (where his parents settled upon their arrival from Belarus).

For the past 10 years Bishop Władysław Blin served as the Ordinary of the Diocese of Vitebsk, which includes the town of Druja – the site of the first Marian monastery in Belarus, founded by our Father Renovator, Blessed Bishop George Matulewicz in 1923. Also within this diocese lies the Marian shrine in Rosica – the site of the Martyr death of the Blessed Marians Anthony Leszczewicz and George Kaszyra in 1943, who perished while rendering pastoral services to the faithful in the tragic times of war.

Source: Curia General of the MIC
Photos: www.catholic.by