First men's institute dedicated to the Immaculate Conception: Rare Statutes.

[Marian Fathers]. Statuta Congregationis sub Titulo Immaculatae Conceptionis Beatae Virginis Mariae Clericorum Regularium Marianorum Defunctis, & Parochis in Cura Animarum Suffragantium Authoritate Apostolica fel. rec. Innocentii PP. XIII. Approbata, & Confirmata. Rome: Ex Typographia Reverendae Camerae Apostolicae, 1778. Folio [29.1 x 21.0 cm], XXVIII pp., with woodcut device on title page, woodcut initial, factotum initial and tailpieces. Bound in later boards. Small lost to upper extremity of spine, minor staining and rubbing to spine and boards. Uncut, title and deckled edges a bit dusty, occasional minor spotting and staining, a few annotations in pencil.
 
 
Rare (no U.S. copies) first edition of the official Latin statutes for the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, the first Catholic religious institute for men dedicated to the Virgin’s Immaculate Conception. These statutes were approved by Innocent XIII in 1723; a Polish version of the statutes appeared in print in 1750 (Reguła i Statuta, Warsaw).
 
The statutes treat the admission and education of novices, religious obedience, poverty, chastity, mortification, liturgical matters, the taking of sacraments, missionary work, administrative procedures, and suffrages for souls in purgatory, a particular focus of the congregation. 
 
The Marian Fathers were founded by Stanislas Papczynski (1631-1701) in 1670 and given papal approval by Innocent XII in 1699. After a period of turmoil following the death of Papczynski, the congregation was at last released from the interference of local bishops with these 1723 Statutes approved by Innocent XIII.
 
 
OPAC, OCLC and KVK locate examples of this work at the British Library, Biblioteca Francesco Antonio Marcucci (Ascoli Piceno), Biblioteca statale di Cremona, Biblioteca romana ed emeroteca (Roma), and Biblioteca dell’Archivio di Stato di Roma.
 
* IT\ICCU\RMRE\017037; Statuta Confraternitatis Immaculatae Conceptionis B.V.M. Congregationis CC. Marianorum (2018).