St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr

I’m sure that English readers know very well St. Thomas Becket, bishop of Canterbury, who engaged in conflict with  the English king Henry II and because of that he was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. The history of the martyrdom of St. Stanislaus, bishop of Cracow, is in some ways very similar. Stanislaus (Polish name Stanisław) was born in Szczepanów, near Cracow, in 1030. He studied in a cathedral school in Gniezno (at that time it was the capital of Poland) and later in Paris. After his return he was ordained priest and after the death of the bishop of Cracow he was elected his successor in 1072. As a bishop he was a ducal advisor and he had some influence on Polish politics. His major accomplishments included bringing papal legates to Poland as well as the re-establishment of a metropolitan see in Gniezno and because of that the German metropolitan see in Magdeburg ceased its claims to supremacy over the Polish dioceses. But he was also regarded as a good pastor of his local church working with a great dedication. He cared for spreading the Christian faith and his preaching led many people to embrace faith or to live more fervently in a difficult time in Poland. He was known to be a truly holy man.

Because of his courageous attitude Bishop Stanislaus became a martyr. He opposed the Polish king Bolesław Śmiały (Boleslaus the Bold). According to tradition the main cause of conflict was his ineffective admonitions of the Polish king for his immoral practices as well as unjust behaviour in relation to the people. He confronted the king, calling on him to change his life and to care for people, threatening excommunication if he did not change his ways. The king responded with furious anger. He decided to kill the bishop. The king entered the church and killed him with his own sword when the bishop was celebrating Holy Mass. Then he ordered his soldiers to dismember the body. This happened in the year 1079. Stanislaus was soon acclaimed as a martyr, while Boleslaus lost his power and left Poland fleeing to Hungary where he entered the monastery to do penance for his crime.  The cult of St. Stanislaus began immediately after his death. In 1245 his relics were moved to Cracow’s Wawel Cathedral and he was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in Assisi in 1253.

As the first native Polish saint, Stanislaus is the patron of Poland and Cracow. He shares the patronage of Poland with St. Wojciech (Adalbert) and Our Lady the Queen of Poland. Almost all the Polish kings were crowned in Wawel Cathedral kneeling before his sarcophagus, which stands in the middle of the cathedral. Saint Stanislaus’s veneration has had great patriotic importance. Each year on 8th May a procession led by the Bishop of Cracow goes out from Wawel to Skałka (the Church on the Rock). The procession was popularized in the 20th century by Polish Primate Stefan Wyszyński and Arcibishop of Cracow, Karol Wojtyła, who as Pope John Paul II called St. Stanislaus the patron saint of Christian moral order. For many years St. Stanislaus feast day was celebrated on 8th May, but in 1969 the Church moved the feast day to 11th April. In Poland since 1254 the Solemnity of St. Stanislaus is celebrated on 8th May.

Father, may the example of St. Stanislaus of Poland inspire the people of Poland and throughout the world to follow Jesus Christ even in the midst of oppression form ungodly governments. May his holiness of life and dedication to prayer be an example to each one of us in our own state in life and vocation. May his holy priesthood and episcopal service inspire priests and bishops in our own time to care for the faithful and stand up to those who persecute the Church, without fear for their own safety, willing to even shed their blood if called to do so.