“I want eternity. I was born for greater things.”
Stanislaus was born of noble parents in 1030 near Krakow, Poland. He studied in Paris and Gniezno, Poland where he was ordained a priest. He was quickly known for his preaching and became much sought after as a spiritual adviser. He was very successful in his reforming efforts.
He was nominated by Pope Alexander II as Bishop of Krakow at the age of 42. It was during this time that Poland was in a state of political unrest with active opposition to King Boleshaw II the Bold. For many centuries, the coronation ritual of a king was considered to be a Sacrament of the Church. Such was the importance of the king’s role in protecting and promoting the faith in his realm. The parallel duties which kings and bishops owed to both Church and Kingdom sometimes led to irresolvable conflicts.
King Boleshaw II was cruel, unjust, promoted war, and had kidnapped the beautiful wife of a nobleman. He was greatly resented by his people. Bishop Stanislaus joined the opposition under the leadership of Wladyslaw Herman, the king’s brother. In 1079, Stanislaus had the King excommunicated, who was outraged, and labelled him a traitor.
During a following service at the Cathedral, he stopped the mass when the King entered, and Boleslaw went into a fury and actively sought Stanislaus’ blood. The henchmen sent by the King, refused to carry out their duty. The King then later entered a chapel where the Bishop was saying Mass and cut him down with his sword. Stanislaus was immediately venerated as a martyr.
The public was outraged and the King was forced to flee to Hungary.
For hundreds of years, Polish kings were crowned at the splendid tomb of the martyr in the central nave of Krakow’s Cathedral as he is the Patron Saint of Poland.
Saint Pope John Paul II had a great devotion to Saint Stanislaus. His papal pilgrimage into the communist government of Poland, which coincided exactly with the 900th anniversary of the saint’s martyrdom, unleashed various social movements that brought communism to its knees.
Saint Stanislaus, you fearlessly confronted those who threatened the well-being of the Church, and so gave a heroic example of martyrdom to an entire nation. Help all who seek your intercession to be as brave and forthright as you in the face of threats and adversity.
His the patron saint of moral order, and the Archdiocese of Cracow, Poland.
His feast day is April 11.
For God’s Glory.
