THE CHURCH
For over 130 years, the parish has served and contributed to the growth of its community. A great deal of sometimes superhuman struggle was needed to begin and build with perseverance, and later to maintain, care for, and develop the Parish of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr...
OUR PATRON
Born in Szczepanowo, Poland, Stanislaus received schooling from his parents. He completed studies at a French university after which he returned to his homeland. Ordained Bishop in A.D. 1071 after Bishop Lambert, he admonished the ruler of Poland, Boleslaus, to mend the king's licentious and cruel life.
LIFE'S OBSTACLES
The king became enraged at the bishop and was determined to take vengeance. He attacked the integrity of the bishop, falsely charging him with misappropriating someone else’s land. Adding insult to the injury was the fact that the land owner's been dead for three years
DIVINE VICTORY
Stanislaus prayed and fasted for three days. On the third day, in the presence of many, he called the original owner of the property to rise from the dead. The man rose and testified on the bishop’s behalf acquitting him of the charge.
MARTYRDOM & SAINTHOOD
Boleslaus then decided to punish the bishop with a bloody death. On May 8, 1079, while Bishop Stanislaus was celebrating Mass in the Church of St. Michael at Skalka, Boleslaus approached the altar and struck the back of the bishop’s head with a sword. Fearing the body might become an object of veneration, the king and his soldiers dismembered the corpse and strew the pieces on the plains of Skalka for the beasts to devour. Tradition has it that four huge eagles protected the pieces of flesh. Three days later, when the canons of Krakow sought to collect the remains for a decent burial, they discovered the dismembered parts had miraculously been reunited. The canons buried the bishop near his place of martyrdom, where numerous miracles were soon attributed to his intercession. Nine years later, the bishop’s body was re-interred in the Cathedral of Krakow. Because of nationwide furor, Boleslaus spent the rest of his life doing public penance.
Saint Stanislaus was canonized on September 8, 1254 in Assisi by Pope Innocent IV. The feast of Poland’s chief patron saint is celebrated on May 8.