ST. STANISLAUS

MEMORIAL: APRIL 11

St. Stanislaus was born in the 11th century in Poland to a noble family. He became a priest after being influenced by his Catholic education. He was eventually named a bishop. Legend has it that a man named Peter sold Bishop Stanislaus his land before he died. When Peter died, his sons disputed the purchase, and King Boleslaus awarded the land to the sons. Bishop Stanislaus asked for three days to prove his case. He prayed for three days, unburied Peter, and raised him from the dead to testify to the king. Consequently, Bishop Stanislaus was awarded the land. 

King Boleslaus was not happy with Bishop Stanislaus. Aside from the incident with Peter, Bishop Stanislaus had spoken out on multiple occasions against the King and his injustice. On one particular occasion, Bishop Stanislaus called out King Boleslaus for kidnapping and sleeping with the wife of one of his soldiers. Stanislaus excommunicated the King which caused the king to send his soldiers to kill the Bishop. Because his soldiers were unwilling, King Boleslaus killed Stanislaus himself while he was celebrating mass. The martyrdom caused the King to be banished from Poland, and Bishop Stanislaus became one of the earliest saints of Poland of which he is the patron saint.

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