Marian Founder, a Child of Mary in the 100th Anniversary of Fatima

On Sept. 17, we celebrate the 316th anniversary of the death of the Founder of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, St. Stanislaus Papczynski (1631-1701). The Most Rev. Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, provincial superior for the Marian Fathers in the United States and Argentina, shares some of the miracles attributed to St. Stanislaus' intercession.

As we reflect on Our Lady of Fatima in this 100th anniversary of her apparitions (particularly her special call to conversion; to prayer, especially the Rosary; personal consecration; and reparation), we also remember that Our Immaculate Mother obtained extraordinary miracles for our Founder, St. Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczynski.

Here, I wish to recall two of those miracles, which led to his beatification and canonization. May they inspire us to rely on his intercession and that of Our Lady.

The first miracle concerned Urszula Markowska, a 27-year-old, who experienced complications with her pregnancy. She was admitted to Pro-Medica Hospital in E?k, Poland. Her uncle Zbigniew, worried about Urszula losing another baby, began to pray a novena through the intercession of Fr. Stanislaus to save the baby.

During the novena, Urszula experienced severe abdominal pain. She went to see Dr. Srodek, her obstetrician and the department chief, who performed the ultrasound. He saw a shrunken fetus with no heartbeat, which indicated that the baby was dead. He told her to go home and wait for a natural miscarriage.

Despite the devastating news, her uncle did not stop praying the novena, trusting in the extraordinary power of the Marian Founder's prayers, which had previously raised others from the dead.

On the fourth day, Urszula returned to Dr. Srodek, who performed another ultrasound and found the baby alive, viable, with a strong heartbeat. The shocked doctor took a second ultrasound in his private office and confirmed that the baby was alive.

Sebastian was born on Oct. 17, 2001, and is now a healthy 17-year-old. The Holy See considered this medically proven return to life a miracle and attributed it to Fr. Stanislaus' intercession.

The recipient of the second miracle was Barbara Rudzik, a 20-year-old woman preparing for marriage, who developed severe double pneumonia and was hospitalized on Feb. 24, 2008, at the same Pro-Medica Hospital in E?k.

Diagnosed with adult respiratory distress syndrome after about a month in the ICU, she did not respond to any treatment. On full life-support, with total organ failure and septic shock, Dr. Szypulski, chief of the ICU, told the family that her condition was desperate, irreversible, with death imminent.

Barbara's mother, deeply distraught, went to her parish church, where Barbara's catechism teacher gave her the Novena to Blessed Stanislaus and asked her family to start praying it immediately.

On the seventh day of the Novena, Barbara's clinical status began to improve, which stunned the doctors. On the ninth day, Barbara's breathing tube was removed, and she began to spontaneously breathe on her own. The X-ray showed the complete healing of her irreversibly damaged lungs.

Two months later, Barbara married Tomasz, and they now have two healthy children. Rome recognized this healing as rapid, full, stable, and inexplicable, leading to the canonization of Stanislaus Papczynski.

Many people have received great graces and miracles through the intercession of this servant of Mary. We encourage you to turn to St. Stanislaus, patron of those in mortal danger, for divine graces and special protection. During his lifetime, St. Stanislaus believed that the divine grace and mercy he received was flowing from God through Mary's Immaculate Conception. His special prayer that he relied on and in which he was never disappointed was:

"May the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception be our health and our protection."

Doctor Szypulski, who treated Barbara and witnessed the miracle, spoke on April 23, 2017, Divine Mercy Sunday, at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and was a keynote speaker on May 3-4 at the 13th Annual Divine Mercy Medicine, Bioethics and Spirituality Conference at Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, organized by the Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy!

Saint Stanislaus Papczynski was born May 18, 1631, and died on Sept. 17, 1701. His feast day is celebrated May 18. Learn more about him and pray a novena for his intercession on our official St. Stanislaus website.

See more about St. Stanislaus and the miracle for his canonization here:

PSET

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