STANISLAUS OF KRAKW, SAINT,

born c. 1030, , Szczepanw, Pol. died April 11, 1079, Krakw; canonized 1253; feast day April 11, feast day in Krakw May 7 also called Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanow, Stanislaus also spelled Stanislas, Polish Swiety StanisLaw z Krakowa, or ze Szcyepanowa patron saint of Poland, the first Pole to be canonized. Of noble birth, Stanislaus studied at Gniezno, Pol., and probably at Paris. While serving as canon and preacher at Krakw (Cracow), he was electedafter Pope Alexander II nominated himbishop of Krakw in 1072. During that time Poland was in a state of political unrest, with active opposition to King Boleslaw II the Bold. Stanislaus joined the opposition under the leadership of Wladyslaw Herman, the king's brother, and excommunicated Boleslaw. In 1079 Stanislaus was accused of treason. The royal court found him guilty and sentenced him to dismemberment. Following the execution of Stanislaus, King Boleslaw was forced to flee to Hungary. These events have remained a matter of controversy between those Polish historians who believe Stanislaus was part of a Bohemian-German plot designed to remove Boleslaw and replace him with Wladyslaw, and those who describe the execution as a contemptible act of revenge against a saintly bishop who had excommunicated a cruel, licentious king. In any case, miracles and legends spread the cult of the martyred bishop to Lithuania, Belorussia, and Ukraine, and Stanislaus became the patron saint of his native Poland.