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Saint Hyacinth of Poland
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Saint Hyacinth of Poland

A Polish Dominican who brought his order to Kraków and across eastern Europe

Rank
Saint
Kind
Priest, Religious, Missionary
Life
1185 – 1257
Era
13th century
Feast
17 August
Countries
Poland
Poland

Life story

Hyacinth, in Polish Jacek Odrowąż, was born around 1185 into a noble family of Silesia or Lesser Poland; sources disagree about the exact place. He studied at Kraków and possibly at universities abroad, then became a canon of the Kraków chapter. His uncle was Ivo Odrowąż, Bishop of Kraków. Around 1220 he travelled to Rome with his uncle, where he met Saint Dominic.

Hyacinth and some companions asked to receive the Dominican habit that same year. After his novitiate he was sent back to his homeland with several brothers. Tradition says he founded the first Dominican houses in Poland, among them the Holy Trinity priory in Kraków, and preached in regions such as Prussia, Pomerania, Kiev and perhaps farther north. The extent of his travels rests on much oral tradition and is hard to pin down.

A well-known legend says that when the Mongols entered Kiev in 1240 he left carrying the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Our Lady; this is a story handed down by tradition, not a certain historical fact. He died in Kraków on 15 August 1257. Pope Clement VIII canonised him in 1594. He is remembered as one of the founders of the Dominican Order in Poland.

He was buried in the Dominican Holy Trinity church in Kraków, where his tomb can still be seen. His name remains common in Polish as Jacek, and many churches in Poland carry it. His life was recorded fairly early in Dominican chronicles, although many details were embroidered over the centuries.

Works and witness

  • Studied and served as canon at Kraków, then took the Dominican habit in Rome around 1220
  • Brought the Dominican Order to Poland and founded a priory in Kraków
  • According to tradition, preached in Prussia, Kiev and the east
  • Died in Kraków in 1257; canonised in 1594

Saints from the same country

Saint Stanislaus of Kraków, Saint John Paul II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Faustina Kowalska

References

  • Martyrologium Romanum
  • Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
  • Early Dominican chronicles on the Polish province

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.