St Stanislaus
The Christmas ball represents a figure of Saint Stanislaus. It is designed to be hung on a Christmas Tree or exposed on a display stand.
Saint Stanislaus is presented with a crozier and palm. He is accompanied by the White Eagle and Piotrowin from Janiszew.
Attributes
A crozier
The crozier is a symbol of episcopal dignity.
A palm
The palm stands for both triumph and martyrdom.
A white eagle
The White Eagle represents Poland of which St. Stanislaus is the primary patron saint, and the country’s welfare that was so important to him.
Piotrowin (Peter)
The small figure at the saint’s feet is Piotrowin, the landowner resurrected by Stanislaus to testify to the bishop’s truthfulness before the court.
What do we remember from the life of Saint Stanislaus:
- The date of the saint’s birth is assumed to be July 26, 1030. The date of his death is certain: April 11, 1079.
- He was the only son of a pious couple, Wielislaw and Bogna of Turzyna Coat of Arms, representatives of the minor nobility.
- He received a thorough, formal education in Poland and abroad.
- At the age of 25 he returned to Cracow and was ordained a priest.
- He was a preacher, missionary of Lesser Poland, and a chancellor of contemporary bishop of Cracow, Lambert.
- Lambert appointed him as his successor and in 1072 Stanislaus became the Bishop of Cracow.
- He brought papal legates to the country.
- He established a metropolitan archdiocese of Gniezno.
- He was a supporter and benefactor of monasteries, especially Benedictine ones.
- He supervised the construction of Wawel Cathedral.
- He worked for the coronation of Boleslaw the Generous.
- He had a conflict with the king as their moral and political opinions diverged.
- Boleslaw the Generous sentenced the saint to death by dismemberment. The execution took place in a church, possibly during mass.
- The chopped off limbs and the head of the saint miraculously reintegrated, and the event became a symbol of the feudal fragmentation of Poland and later its reunification.
- He is attributed to numerous miracles of national importance, including the victory in the Battle of Grunwald.
- The cult of Stanislaus is connected with the figure of Piotrowin (Peter) whom the saint resurrected so that he could testify the truth in court as the only witness of the events.
- The sarcophagus with Stanislaus’ remains is located in the Wawel Cathedral, and his relics have been brought to numerous churches under his name in the country, in Falkowice, Piotrowina, and Szczepanów among others.
- Stanislaus was canonised on September 8, 1253 by Pope Innocent IV.
- The bishop was made the primary patron saint of Poland by Pope John XXIII in 1963.
Initially, the body of the saint rested in Skałka Church, but after ten years it was transferred to the Wawel Cathedral.
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów, a bishop and martyr.
The prophecy of his great importance for the Polish church is already present in his very name, Stanislaus, he is the one who is to become famous.
St Stanislaus is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church all over the world on April, 11 that is on the day of his death. In Poland, the 8th of May is additionally celebrated with a liturgical feast connected with veneration of the saint’s relics which are kept in churches and other places of worship in the country.
St. Stanislaus is one of the most important Polish saints. Together with St. Adalbert and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Poland, they create a group of primary patron saints of Poland. His intercession is invoked by archdioceses, dioceses and cities, including Cracow and Ostrów Wielkopolski. Thus, St Stanislaus is the patron saint of all Poles.
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