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Saint Stanislaus of Kraków
Image: Stanisław Samostrzelnik · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Saint Stanislaus of Kraków

Bishop of Kraków killed in 1079 after a conflict with King Boleslaus II

Rank
Saint
Kind
Bishop, Martyr
Life
1030 – 1079
Era
11th century
Feast
11 April
Countries
Poland
Poland

Life story

Stanislaus was born around 1030 at Szczepanów, near Kraków, into a noble family. According to tradition he studied abroad; after ordination as a priest he became a preacher in the diocese of Kraków. In 1072 he was chosen as its bishop and was known for his care for the poor as well as for his outspokenness.

Poland was then ruled by King Boleslaus II the Bold, who had restored the kingdom and been crowned in 1076. Bishop Stanislaus came into conflict with him. The exact cause is not fully clear: the earliest chronicler, Gallus Anonymus, speaks of the bishop's treason, while the later tradition of Vincent of Kraków says the king was cruel and that the bishop rebuked him.

Stanislaus was killed on 11 April 1079. According to tradition, the king himself struck him down while he was saying Mass in a chapel on the Skałka hill, and the body was then cut apart. Boleslaus was forced to leave Poland and fled to Hungary, where he died around 1081 or 1082.

Veneration of Stanislaus grew in Kraków over the following centuries. In 1253 Pope Innocent IV canonised him at Assisi. His relics rest in Wawel Cathedral, where Polish kings were crowned and buried. Stanislaus is patron of the city of Kraków and one of the patrons of Poland. His feast is kept on 11 April, and the Skałka site, where the killing is traditionally placed, remains a place of pilgrimage in Kraków, a city that has honoured him for more than seven centuries.

Works and witness

  • Bishop of Kraków from 1072
  • Came into conflict with King Boleslaus II the Bold
  • Killed on 11 April 1079, according to tradition at Skałka
  • Canonised by Pope Innocent IV in 1253
  • His relics are venerated in Wawel Cathedral

Patron of

Poland, Kraków

Saints from the same country

Saint John Paul II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Faustina Kowalska, Saint Jadwiga of Poland

References

  • Martyrologium Romanum
  • Gallus Anonymus, Chronicle of the Dukes of Poland
  • Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile

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