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 900th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint Stanislaus, Patron Saint of Poland Scott 648-651 (1979) 120 L: Martyrdom of Saint Stanislaus 150L: Saint Stanislaus appearing to the people 250 L: Gold Reliquary containing the Saint's head 500 L: View of the Wawel Cathedral, Krakow April 11 marks the Feast of Saint Stanislaus (or Stanislaus of Szczepanów). He served as the Bishop of Kraków, and was martyred on this date in 1079 by the Polish King Bolesław II. Stanislaus is the patron saint of Poland (as well as specifically Krakow, Poland) and moral order. Stanislas was born on July 26, 1030, into a noble family at Szczepanow. He was educated at a cathedral school in Gniezno (at the time, the capital of Poland) and was ordained in Krakow. In the year 1072, he was consecrated a bishop and that year succeeded Lambert II Suła as Bishop of Kraków. Historian David Farmer describes him as “a zealous reformer, a tireless preacher, and a generous benefactor to the poor.” During his time as bishop, a disagreement developed between Stanislaus and King Boleslaw II of Poland. The quarrel reached its peak as news circulated during the Polish war in Ruthenia, when soldiers deserted upon hearing that their land and wives were being abused by overseers. In response to the king's brutality, he was excommunicated by Stanislaus, which emboldened the King's political opponents. The king then accused Bishop Stanislaus of treason, a charge confirmed by the royal court. Following the guilty verdict, King Bolesław sent his men to execute Bishop Stanislaus, but they did not fulfill his command. Enraged, the King decided to kill the bishop himself, which occurred while Stanislaus was celebrating Mass. According to legend, the king's guards then dismembered the bishop's body, but his body was then miraculously reintegrated. The killing of Stanislaus so angered the populace that King Bolesław left the throne and sought refuge in Hungary. The death of Saint Stanislaus has been compared to the murder of Thomas Becket almost one hundred year later, in 1170 in England, as ordered by King Henry II.  Silver Sarcophagus of Saint Stanislaus Wawel Cathedral, Krakow, Poland Photo by Bogitor From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License In addition to miracles associated with Stanislaus during his life, others were documented at his tomb. He was canonized on September 17, 1253, by Pope Innocent IV. His final resting place consists of a magnificent silver casket in the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow, shown above. In addition, one of the stamps shown at the top of this article depicts the special reliquary that contains the head of the saint. The memory of Saint Stanislaus was often invoked by Pope John Paul II during his first visit to Poland in 1979, especially as representative of the ‘moral order’ which the bishop of Szczpanow attempted to uphold 900 years earlier. It was a clear message to the Polish people under communist rule. In addition to Poland, Stanislaus is also venerated in Lithuania, Byelorussia, and the Ukraine. REFERENCES: |
