CatholicSaints.Info

Also known as

• Stanislaus Szczepanowsky

Memorial

• 11 April
• formerly 7 May in the Roman Martyrology
• 8 May (in Cracow)
• 27 September (translation of relics)

Profile

Born to the Polish nobility, son of Belislaus and Bogna, and raised in a pious family. Educated at Gnesen, Poland, and may have studied at Paris, France. When his parents died, Stanislaus distributed his inheritance to the poor. Parish priest at Czembocz, Poland. Canon and preacher, and later vicar-general at the Cracow cathedral; noted spiritual director. Reluctant bishop of Cracow in 1072. Known for his preaching against sinful living, regardless of the sinner’s class. Killed by King Boleslaus the Cruel after Stanislaus excommunicated him due to his war crimes and attempted theft of land from the Church. Murdered while celebrating Mass. Reaction against Boleslaus was so great that he fled the country, never to return; his guilt led him to become a monk. Stanislaus became a symbol of Polish patriotism and nationalism, and is sometimes considered a martyr.

Born

• 26 July 1030 as Szczepanowski, diocese of Cracow, Poland as Stanislaus Szczepanowsky

Died

• murdered on 8 May 1079 in the chapel of Saint Michael in a suburb of Cracow, Poland
• buried in the chapel
• re-interred in the cathedral of Cracow in 1088

Canonized

• 1253 by Pope Innocent IV at Assisi, Italy

Patronage

• soldiers in battle
• –
• Poland
• –
• in Poland
  • Cracow, archdiocese of
  • Cracow, city of
  • Plock, diocese of
  • Warsaw, archdiocese of

Representation

• bishop being hacked to pieces at the foot of an altar
• bishop with a sword

MLA Citation

• “Saint Stanislaus of Cracow“. CatholicSaints.Info. 10 April 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <>