St Mary Preparatory High School - Eagle Yearbook (Orchard Lake, MI)

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:X The famous statue of St, Stanislaus and John Al- brecht sculptured by Stan- It ,f -, islaus Stwosz and now found in the Albrecht chapel of the Wawel Cathe- dral. .if-is gxx i Kgs, ,fri-.,+ 2111 fi Q ',AV f 'X -Q xx 'y V' fm X , X- i 5 1',g f-Jvfixi' .Q 1 1 'xg ,ff K Ri . X. ' X! 2' fkjifli 2 1,-1 ' 7 fi? c 1 4 Y gl l if xwfxjl V ' Y Jl J' fi if I A Y-3? 3 'X ,CCY My ,W E-1',,Qm,.1V.-,,Zu.Q ' - etfiif' ' 43, , ii --f' LZ- M... My -V-fl, 6 ,,,f ,K--, '- - -V A -......l.. '-'--sf ,a,.aM,e. W-MW W f ' the bishop celebrated Holy Mass. Boleslaus surround- ed the edifice and ordered several of his soldiers to kill the bishop at the altar. Three times the soldiers approached the altar to perform their monarch's bid- ding: each time they were repelled and thrown to the floor by some strange force. Finally, as Kadlubek vi- vidly describes it, the king himself approached the altar and struck the back of the saint's head with his sword. Then, fearing that the body might become the object of veneration, Boleslaus and his soldiers dismembered the corpse, cutting it into a thousand pieces, ac- cording to Dlugosz. Finally, the king ordered the dis- membered body to be strewn on the plains of Skalka as prey for beasts, but four eagles of rare size guarded the mutilated flesh, which gave forth a luminous radiance in the dark of the laid to rest near the scene of its martyrdom at Skalka, where numerous miracles were soon attributed to the saint's intercession. The process of Stanislaus' canonization started about 1250 and lasted for three years. Several bishops, par- ticularly the ailing Cardinal Rinaldo Conti, expressed doubt regarding the miracles attributed to the inter- cession of bishop Stanislaus, with the result that the whole process seemed lost. Then, unexpectedly, Cardinal Conti suddenly recuperated from his illness and attributed his recovery to the apparition of a man attired in bishop's robes who answered the description of Stanislaus. This brought the canonization proceed- ings to a successful close on the eighth of September in the year of our Lord 1253 at the church of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, before a great gathering of the faithful. Pope Innocent IV formally proclaimed the elevation of Stanislaus to the altars of the Church and proclaimed the eighth of May as the feast-day of St. Stanislaus, the patron of Poland. Thus ends the singular tale of St. Stanislaus of Kra- kow-how he lived and died in early medieval Poland, and how, owing to the marvelous cure of an Italian cardinal, he was canonized a saint one hundred and seventy-four years after his death and seven hundred years ago this September. Robert Kowalski J, gp i n ig -jiiifs .. 'E-' 1 -5?-E551 5225+ iii' 'fri s '- er '- I '21-f: - ' ' 'lxi iff 'r.: - -1 ' RSP!- - -: ,. 1- -sq: sag- : Ilf i ri' '- 3':-5-i.ff2':-5:5 . - -' -1 .., 'z sf. I --'--'-'-..,,'5- .. .Q ,.. .,. , night. -..?gf1-Li?-iii is Sa . After three days, the canons of Krakow, ..:.,-..:.,,m,. , ,,......s- -1 .Q 2, seeking to collect the remains for a decent 4 it L --ff.Q'.'l 'i 'ff-5' '-iqjfif i burial, discovered that the dismembered , 5'7, X :xp - C-' M m ca. . C. 1 m. ., . s ' -'- --1 , - C. pits had miraculously reunited WEE each K X Y ' 1 nf- A , Q 7,-,.: 5 ,'3:2'2:' -'j I other. Then, with simple ceremony, the x X -- If -3, x':f11Ej-A T- ' ,.-Sf., if 1 N-.' 5 '.:',Ti 7-2-L body of the forty-nine year old. bishop was T j . ' jfj..- -11' nc Q-gf' N ,f -1-T: I -S ' T, C.--J ' rf, - ' :E S' 4.----ffm'-:Jr s - N - .Lei J I-3,21 .E W lf- tif- ,sq ,..':- .- gg., See,- 'rw X Y ' ' Ti- ' 2- , ',- , ,--iff it T T sf f ti-ff --A - if f 'fs-aa. N' s F - X '-ff? , - f f Az'-'ix W ig 'iw-- X Q i- ff.-Q -'-f -..- ' 'N A-S -L'j:f -.' QE 'E'-...---3,-5-,sect a c' was Artist's conception of the original Skalka Church-St. Mi- SWISS M chael's. In the circular sanctuary stood the main altar where St. V - '- S, ' ,MW Stanislaus was killed. The Martyr's body was placed in the Mi -' ii MM' crypt of this church where it remained until 1088.

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I f I Z - - - - - . . . 5 - 5 Q . 2 ,f if 'ig I 5 s f E I ' f ? f I A if 2 f 4' f iii' f ,fffi Y 7- 2 , K! r : g ,.g?E3fi I V 5 ? occasion. This sternness showed itself particularly in Stanislaus' efforts to bring about needed reforms among the clergy and the laity. 1 Q .Z 4 1 X 4 2 if I lf 'PT' 2 77 because of his oratorical ability, Stanislaus became preacher in the cathedral of Krakow and later was made canon and vicar general of the diocese at the age of thirty-six. When bishop Lambert died in 1071, the forty-one year old Stanislaus was chosen as his successor. Al- though he begged to be freed of this grave responsi- bility, Pope Alexander II commanded him to accept the bishopric in the year 1072. During the remain- ing seven years of his life, Stanislaus zealously strove to fulfill his episcopal duties. His humility- and char- ity were exemplified in alms for the poor and com- passion for the desolate. Yet, as one biographer has stated, This gentle kindly man could be stern on At this time Boleslaus II, called the Bold, was the ruler of Poland, having received the royal sceptre in 1058. The king,s life was marred by cruelty, pride, lack of discipline, and licentiousness. Alone, bishop Stanislaus came before the monarch and pleaded with him to mend his ways, but to no avail, for as Kad- lubek says, It is easier to break a crooked tree than to straighten itf, , Accustomed to the shallow flattery of courtiers, Boleslaus became enraged at the bishop and deter- mined to take vengeance. He began by attacking the integrity of the bishop. The king summoned him to appear before the royal tribunal on the false charge of appropriating land which was the property of some- one else. Witnesses who could attest to the bishop,s integrity in this matter refused to testify, fearing the wrath of the king. The original owner of the property was dead for three years. Realizing that only a miracle could prove his innocence, VV'-1 A, Stanislaus devoted three days to fasting and prayer for divine intercession. On the third day, in the presence of many, he called X is IV upon the original owner of the property to ,ggi Q. . if H rise from the dead. To the astonishment of mfg, I p A l all, the dead man arose from his .grave and if I 1,5355 L appeared before the king to testify in the Jr, , . ,SE N. EQ A7 bishop's behalf. , ix ' - . 1 , s Xwixfa To satisfy his hunger for vengeance, f LN 1 ' pf' Boleslaus next decided to punish the bishop Xi, I 1 ii 9 k iwi il W B with a bloody death. On the eighth of XJ f - 0 May in the year of our Lord 1079, in the 1 ?' 'Y f. ' it if if h h f ,M 1. 1 Sk ik ,Lf 1 X w ite stone c urc o St ic ae at a a, jill 'fy'- XX, H5 'N i 1 A e A B A lv-ffl A , Two silver reliquaries of Saint Stanislaus Ltr, 4 -5 w.-hw .1 .X haf, and the Baroque-style coral Monstrance associ . TTXMQ .f fbgliiqigit ,E ated with the famous Church of the Skalka. X g-:T-.?'..--2 L l Here in the Cathedral of Skalka the Saint was A t 1l

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