April 11

ST. STANISLAUS

St. Stanislaus was born near Cracow, Poland, in 1030. His parents had prayed for thirty years for a child. When Stanislaus was born, they offered him to God because they were so grateful to have him. When he grew up, he studied in Paris, France. After his parents died, he gave all the money and property they had left him to the poor. Then he became a priest.

In 1072, Stanislaus was made the bishop of Cracow. (Before he became pope, John Paul II was also bishop of Cracow many centuries later.) Bishop Stanislaus won the love of all the people. They especially appreciated the way he took care of the poor, the widows and the orphans. Often he served them himself.

Poland's king at that time was Boleslaus II. He was cruel and impure. The people were disgusted with his lifestyle and were afraid of him. Bishop Stanislaus first corrected him privately. The bishop was kind and respectful. But he was honest, too, about what the king was doing wrong. The king seemed sorry, but soon fell back to into his old ways again. He committed even more shameful sins. The bishop then had to put him out of the Church. King Boleslaus flew into a rage at that. To get revenge, he ordered two of his guards to kill St. Stanislaus. Three times they tried and failed. Then the king himself, in a mad rage, rushed into the bishop's chapel. He murdered St. Stanislaus as he was celebrating Mass. It was April 11, 1079.

God worked many miracles after St. Stanislaus' death. All the people called him a martyr. He was proclaimed a saint by Pope Innocent IV in 1253.

We admire and appreciate St. Stanislaus. It takes courage to correct people who are hurting others and giving a bad example. Sometimes we might have to be corrected for our own mistakes. Let us ask St. Stanislaus to help us correct our faults and bad habits. Let us ask him also to be grateful to those who challenge us to become better.