APRIL 11 - SAINT STANISLAUS
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Stanislaus Szczepanowsky
Memorial
11 April
formerly 7 May in the Roman Martyrology
8 May (in Cracow)
27 September (translation of relics)
Profile
Born to the Polish nobility, son of Belislaus and Bogna, and raised in a pious family. Educated at Gnesen, Poland, and may have studied at Paris, France. When his parents died, Stanislaus distributed his inheritance to the poor. Parish priest at Czembocz, Poland. Canon and preacher, and later vicar-general at the Cracow cathedral; noted spiritual director. Reluctant bishop of Cracow in 1072. Known for his preaching against sinful living, regardless of the sinner’s class. Killed by King Boleslaus the Cruel after Stanislaus excommunicated him due to his war crimes and attempted theft of land from the Church. Murdered while celebrating Mass. Reaction against Boleslaus was so great that he fled the country, never to return; his guilt led him to become a monk. Stanislaus became a symbol of Polish patriotism and nationalism, and is sometimes considered a martyr.
Born
26 July 1030 as Szczepanowski, diocese of Cracow, Poland as Stanislaus Szczepanowsky
Died
murdered on 8 May 1079 in the chapel of Saint Michael in a suburb of Cracow, Poland
buried in the chapel
re-interred in the cathedral of Cracow in 1088
Canonized
1253 by Pope Innocent IV at Assisi, Italy
Patronage
Cracow, Poland, archdiocese of
Cracow, Poland, city of
Plock, Poland, diocese of
Poland
soldiers in battle
Representation
bishop being hacked to pieces at the foot of an altar
bishop with a sword