SOULS

As time went on, the Marian Fathers were defined as the "most zealous devotees of praying for the deceased" and even had an official title ascribed to it as: The Order "assisting the deceased and pastors." So it is that each Marian accepted the obligation of assisting the deceased during the rite of religious profession as defined in the Rituals of 1750 and 1791. The superior would ask the candidate; "Do you promise to come with all your strength to the rescue of the Poor Souls in Purgatory through fervent love and mercy?" The candidate would reply: "I promise. I will constantly endeavor for their salvation" (Ritual 1950). Sadly in the 18th century the cause of assisting the deceased slid into a low level of importance, even though an active Society for the Holy Souls was guided in Lithuania in relationship with devotion to St. Joseph, patron of the dying... When reviving the Marian Fathers, Blessed George Matulaitis-Matuliewicz, prepared the Constitutions of 1910 and there eliminated..

Primary location: Stockbridge United States