From the story of his life
In Szczepanów, a village near Brzesko, in southern Poland, on July 26, 1030, the patron saint of the day, as well as the bishop of Krakow, and a martyr, was born.
He was the son of a noble family. His parents, Wielisław and Bogna, could not have children for almost thirty years, and their prayers for his birth were answered.
He was educated in Gniezno, and then studied theology and law in Paris. Returning to Poland, unfortunately he did not find his parents alive.
And while he will distribute the inheritance to the poor, he then enters the Kraków table chapter. Bishop Lambert Suła will ordain him as a priest.
Although he was young, as a canon… he stood out for his learning, preaching, and helping the needy.
He will succeed Bishop Lambert on the Krakow episcopal see in 1072.
He is known as a good shepherd, a caring father of the clergy, and a friend of the poor.
He will reorganize the Polish metropolis in Gniezno, and at the same time encourage the opening of Benedictine monasteries.
He will harshly criticize the violence and immoral life of the Polish king Boleslaw II, as well as the seizure of noble estates… and will even excommunicate him from the Church in the end.
During the Mass, on the Skałka hill, in the suburbs of Kraków, on this day, in the year 1079… the king will kill him with his own hand. That way the future saint Stanislav, bishop and martyr became a symbol of Polish patriotism, while his body will rest in the Krakow Cathedral from 1088.
Pope Innocent IV will declare him a saint in 1253.
Protector of Poland, the archdiocese and the city of Krakow, Gniezno… of soldiers in battle, orderly, and numerous parishes and churches throughout Poland and the world, pray for us.
PRAYER
God, the holy Bishop Stanislav, died by the sword of the persecutor for the honor of Your Name. We ask You, that we may persevere courageously in the Faith until death. According to the Lord.
Sources:
- http://zupajastrebarsko.hr/
- Holy Choir for Divine Worship (1997); Chronology of the Roman Rite, Kršćanska sadašnjost, Zagreb