Feast: August 15
 Information:
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Born at Rostkovo near Prasnysz, Poland, about 28
October, 1550; died at Rome during the night of 14-15 August, 1568. He
entered the Society of Jesus at Rome, 28 October, 1567, and is said to have
foretold his death a few days before it occurred. His father, John Kostka,
was a senator of the Kingdom of Poland and Lord of Zakroczym; his mother was
Margaret de Drobniy Kryska, the sister and niece of the Dukes Palatine of
Masovia and the aunt of the celebrated Chancellor of Poland, Felix Kryski.
The marriage was blessed with seven children, of whom Stanislas was the
second. His older brother Paul survived him long enough to be present at the
celebration of the beatification of Stanislas in 1605. The two brothers were
first taught at home, the main feature of this early education being the
firmness, even severity, of their training; its results were the excellent
habits of piety, modesty, temperance, and submission. After this they were
sent to Vienna with their tutor to attend the Jesuit college that had been opened
four years before, reaching Vienna, 25 July, 1564. Among the students of the
college Stanislas was soon conspicuous not only for his amiability and
cheerfulness of expression, but also for his religious fervour and angelic
piety. This spirit of devotion continued to grow during the three years he
remained in Vienna. His brother Paul said of him during the process of
beatification: "He devoted himself so completely to spiritual thing that
he frequently became unconscious, especially in the church of the Jesuit
Fathers at Vienna. It is true," added the witness, "that this had
happened at home to my brother at Easter when he was seated at table with our
parents and other persons." Among other practices of devotion he joined
while at Vienna the Congregation of St. Barbara, to which many students of
the Jesuit college belonged. If the confidences he then made to his tutor and
later to a fellow-member of the Society at Rome are to be believed, it was
Saint Barbara who brought two angels to him during the course of a serious
illness, in order to give him the Eucharist. So much piety, however, did not
please the older brother Paul; his exasperation led him to treat with
violence the innocent Stanislas. The latter finally lost patience, and one
night after Stanislas had again suffered the harsh comments and blows of his
brother he turned on Paul with the words: "Your rough treatment will end
in my going away never to return, and you will have to explain my leaving to
our father and mother." Paul's sole reply was to swear violently at him.
Meantime the thought of joining the Society of
Jesus had already entered the mind of the saintly young man. It was six
months, however, before he ventured to speak of this to the superiors of the
Society. At Vienna they hesitated to receive him, fearing the tempest that
would probably be raised by his father against the Society, which had just
quieted a storm that had broken out on account of other admissions to the
Company. Stanislas quickly grasped the situation and formed the plan of
applying to the general of the Society at Rome. The distance was five hundred
leagues, which had to be made on foot, without equipment, or guide, or any
other resources but the precariouscharity that might be received on the road.
The prospective dangers and humiliations of such a journey, however, did not
alarm his courage. On the morning of the day on which he was to carry out his
project he called his servant to him early and told him to notify his
brotherPaul and his tutor in the course of the morning that he would not be
back that day to dinner. Then he started, taking the first opportunity to
exchange the dress of gentleman for that of a mendicant, which was the only
way to escape the curiosity of those he might meet. By nightfall Paul and the
tutor comprehended that Stanislas had turned from them as he had threatened.
They were seized with a fierce anger, and as the day was ended the fugitive
had gained twenty-four hours over them. They started to follow him, but were
not able to overtake him; either their exhausted horses refused to go
farther, or a wheel of their carriage would break, or, as the tutor frankly
declared, they had mistaken the route, having left the city by a different
road from the one whichStanislas had taken. It is noticeable that in his
testimony Paul gives no explanation of his ill-luck.
Stanislas stayed for a month at Dillingen, where
the provincial of that time, the Blessed Peter Canisius, put the young
aspirant's vocation to the test by employing him in the boarding-school. Subsequently
he went on to Rome, where he arrived 25 October, 1567. As he was greatly
exhausted by the journey, the general of the order, St. Francis Borgia, would
not permit him to enter the novitiate of Saint Andrew until several days
later. During the ten remaining months of his life, according the testimony
of the master of novices, Father Giulio Fazio, he was a model and mirror of
religious perfection. Notwithstanding his very delicate constitution he did
not spare himself the slightest penance ("Monument hist. Societatis
Jesu, Sanctus Franciscus Borgia", IV, 635). He had such a burning fever
his chest that he was often obliged to apply cold compresses. On the eve of
the feast of St. Lawrence, Stanislas felt a mortal weakness made worse by a
high fever, and clearly saw that his last hour had come. He wrote a letter to
the Blessed Virgin begging her to call him to the skies there to celebrate
with her the glorious anniversary of her Assumption (ibid., 636). His
confidence in the Blessed Virgin, which had already brought him many signal
favours, was this time again rewarded; on 15 August, towards four in the
morning, while he was wrapt in pious utterances to God, to the saints, and to
the Virgin Mary, his beautiful soul passed to its Creator. His face shone
with the most serene light. The entire city proclaimed him a saint and people
hastened from all parts to venerate his remains and to obtain, if possible,
some relics (ibid., 637). The Holy See ratified the popular verdict by his
beatification in 1605; he was canonized on 31 December, 1726. St. Stanislas
is one of the popular saints of Poland and many religious institutions have
chosen him as the protector of their novitiates. The representations of him
in art are very varied; he is sometimes depicted receiving Holy Communion
from the hands of angels; sometimes receiving the Infant Jesus from the hands
of the Virgin; or he is shown in the midst of a battle putting to flight the
enemies of his country. At times he is depicted near a fountain putting a wet
linen cloth on his breast. He isinvoked for palpitations of the heart and for
dangerous cases of illness ( Cahier, "Caractéristiques des
Saints").
This account has been drawn almost exclusively
from the depositions of witnesses cited for the process of canonization of
Stanislas (cf. Archivio della Postulazione generale d. C. d. G., Roma). The
accompanying portrait is by Scipione Delfine and the oldest of St. Stanislas
in existence. Having probably been painted at Rome the year of his death,
perhaps after death, it may be regarded as the best likeness. The face is
strikingly Slavonic, a fact that is not noticeable in his other portraits.
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