Poland’s first saint was not a man to mince words, even when it came to correcting the king. Stanislaus of Krakow would become a beloved patron of the Polish people and an inspiration to a later son of Poland, Pope Saint John Paul II.

Born near Krakow in 1030, he was initially educated at the cathedral schools of Gniezno, which was the capital of Poland at the time. His parents, who were members of Poland’s nobility, were also zealous Catholics who passed their love of the faith on to their son. Stanislaus left Poland for a time to study in Paris where he learned theology and canon law before returning to Poland. Upon the death of his parents, he was left with a sizable fortune, which he gave away to the poor.

Following his ordination, Stanislaus served the Church in Krakow, and when Bishop Lambert Zula died, he succeeded him in 1072. It was not a position that he particularly wanted, but he accepted it in obedience to Pope Alexander II’s order. As it turned out, he was precisely the man for the job that lay ahead.

Stanislaus turned out to be a bold and gifted preacher, and his words brought many back to the practice of their faith. He even effected a conversion among some of the clergy.

While his outspokenness was a boon to the Church, it eventually brought him into conflict with the King himself, Boleslaus II. It was during an expedition to the Grand Duchy of Kiev that Stanislaus found himself involved in the political situation in Poland. By this time, the King had become notorious for his scandalous behavior, leading a depraved and violent lifestyle. Stanislaus reminded him in no uncertain terms of the truth of Christian morality and at first, the King seemed to heed the prelate’s warnings. He made a show of penitence but it was not a true conversion. Before long he settled back into his old ways, forcing Stanislaus to continue his open opposition to the King’s lifestyle despite threats of treason and death.

Finally, Stanislaus excommunicated the King, who was enraged by the sentence. In a sequence of events that seemed to foreshadow what would transpire just a few years later with Saint Thomas Becket in England, King Boleslaus ordered his soldiers to kill the bishop. When they refused, the King himself ambushed Stanislaus and struck him down with a sword as he celebrated Mass.

The esteem with which the people held Stanislaus led to a great outcry among the people. Boleslaus was forced to flee Poland and is said to have spent the rest of his life living as a penitent in the Benedictine Abbey in Osiak. Ironically, in this way, Stanislaus did eventually manage to convert the King. The saint himself was canonized as a martyr in 1253.

Although the Poles commemorate him on May 8, the date of his death, the Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on April 11. Stanislaus is the patron saint of Poland.