Sytuacja finansowa klasztoru Paulinów w Leśnej Podlaskiej

Abstract

Monastery of the Pauline Fathers in Leśna Podlaska was sponsored by Władysław Jan Michałowski in 1726. Both monastery and parish received a donation of 15 villages. However, after the third partition of Poland, the Pauline Fathers lost 11 of these villages. The value of all donations and goods amounted to 449 375 zloty, although part of the given money never reached the monastery, or reached it with some delay. Majority of the received funds was lost by the monastery and parish after 1796, when the goods were confiscated by Russia. Only 26 812,16 zloty were recovered, the amount which tsar Alexander I decided to donate to a construction of a monastery. However, it was only a smali part of the overall lost amount The sources of income can be divided into permanent and temporary. The first type includes rental of various properties and propination laws, as well as the interest of the money put in banks. Temporary income sources induded: interest of the repurchase rights, commission from the loans provided by the monastery, compensation for the war damages, court compensations, income from business operations, providing religious services, financial help from the monastery's officials, income from covered bonds, publishing books and selling agricultural products. When it comes to how the money was spent, it was usually for covering various construction and renovation works, contributions to the monastery's vault, taxes and salaries paid to the Staff working in the monastery, repaying of debts, salaries for the village mayor and unitarian priest, maintenance of the monastery and church, court cases, transport and healthcare costs, as well as craft services. Part of the expenses could not be identified, however. Most of the time the monastery generated income, apart from the very last part of the researched period, when there were some financial losses. The amount of the generated income depended on the economic conditions at a given time. The highest income (6204,22 zloty) was generated between 1729 and 1731, the lowest - between 1733 and 1736 (only 927,27 zloty). According to the existing historical records, the average yearly income was around 2244 zloty. Thus, it can be concluded that the financial situation of the monastery in Leśna was generally good, although it needs to be noted that majority of the goods belonging to the monastery was confiscated by the invading countries during partitions, which in turn led to severe financial problems.