Vigils Reading – St Stanislaus

ST STANISLAUS

BISHOP AND MARTYR OF CRACOW, POLAND

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints5

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Stanislaus was born on July 26, 1030 in Poland. He came of noble parents

who had been childless for many years until this son was granted to them in

answer to prayer. They devoted him from birth to the service of God, and

encouraged the piety he showed from childhood. He was ordained a priest

by the Bishop of Cracow, who gave him a canonry in the cathedral and

subsequently appointed him his preacher and archdeacon. The eloquence of

the young priest and his saintly example brought about a great reformation

of morals among his penitents, clergy as well as laity. Upon the death of the

Bishop, Stanislaus was appointed Bishop by Pope Alexander II, and was

consecrated Bishop in 1072.

Poland at that time was ruled by Boleslaus, a prince whose finer qualities

were eclipsed by his unbridled lust and savage cruelty. Stanislaus alone

ventured to confront the tyrant and to remonstrate with him at the scandal

his conduct was causing. At first the king tried to vindicate his behavior, but

when pressed more closely he made some show of repentance. The good

effects of the admonition, however, soon wore off and Boleslaus relapsed

into his evil ways. There were acts of injustice which brought him into

conflict with the Bishop and at length he created an outrage which caused

general indignation.

A certain nobleman had a wife who was very beautiful. Boleslaus cast

lustful eyes upon this lady, and when she repelled his advances, he caused

her to be carried off by force and lodged in his palace. The Polish nobles

called upon the Archbishop of Gnesen and the court prelates to confront the

monarch. But fear of offending the king closed their lips. St. Stanislaus,

when appealed to, had no such hesitation. He went to Boleslaus and rebuked

him for his sin. He threatened the prince that if he persisted in his evil course

he would bring upon himself the censure of the Church.

Finding all remonstrance useless, Stanislaus launched against the king a

formal sentence of excommunication. The tyrant professed to disregard the

sentence, but when he entered the cathedral of Cracow he found that the

services were at once suspended by order of the Bishop. Furious with rage,

he pursued the Bishop to the little chapel of St. Michael outside the city,

where he was celebrating Mass, and ordered some of his guards to enter and

slay him. The men however returned saying they could not kill the saint as

he was surrounded by a heavenly light. Upbraiding them for cowardice, the

king himself entered the chapel and dispatched the Bishop with his own

hand. The guards then cut the body into pieces and scattered them abroad

to be devoured by the beasts of prey. However the sacred relics were rescued

three days later by the cathedral canons and privately buried at the door of

the chapel where Stanislaus had been slain.

It is not true that the action of Boleslaus led to an immediate uprising of

the people which drove him from Poland; but it certainly hastened his fall

from power. Pope Gregory VII laid the country under an interdict, and

nearly two centuries later, in 1253, St Stanislaus was canonized by Pope

Innocent IV.

5 Butler’s Lives of the Saints – Revised edition – edited by Michael Walsh – Harper – San

Francisco – 1991 – pg 109.12