Saint Stanislas Kostka
Novice Jésuite
(1550-1568)
Parmi les admirables Saints qui ont mérité de servir de patrons à la jeunesse chrétienne, saint Stanislas Kostka occupe une place de choix. Sa vie fut courte, mais mieux remplie que beaucoup de longues carrières, selon la parole de nos saints Livres. Il naquit d'une famille très illustre de Pologne, dont il devint, par sa sainteté, la principale gloire.
Son enfance se distingua par une extraordinaire piété, et sa modestie était si remarquable, qu'une seule parole malséante suffisait pour le faire s'évanouir. Son plaisir était d'être vêtu simplement et de s'entretenir avec les pauvres. Il fit ses études à Vienne, avec son frère, Paul, au collège des Jésuites, mais en qualité d'externe. Sa vertu ne fit que s'accroître, malgré les exemples et les persécutions de son frère. A mille épreuves de chaque instant, il joignait encore des mortifications volontaires et se donnait de fortes disciplines; deux oraisons journalières ne lui suffisant pas, il se levait la nuit, quelque temps qu'il fit, pour élever son âme vers Dieu. Le démon furieux vint l'assaillir dans son lit, où il gisait, malade, et se jeta sur lui sous la forme d'un horrible chien noir; mais l'enfant le chassa honteusement par le signe de la Croix.
Par l'assistance de sainte Barbe, qu'il avait invoquée, il reçut la visite de deux Anges, qui lui apportèrent la Sainte Communion. Quelques jours après, la Sainte Vierge lui apparut tenant l'Enfant Jésus dans Ses bras; Stanislas put caresser le Sauveur et obtint de Lui l'assurance qu'il entrerait dans la Compagnie de Jésus. Après sa guérison, il s'habilla en pèlerin et se dirigea vers Augsbourg, ville fort éloignée de Vienne. En route, il échappa miraculeusement aux poursuites de son frère et reçut la Communion des mains d'un Ange. D'Augsbourg, l'obéissance le conduisit à Rome, à travers deux cent soixante lieues de chemin; mais rien n'épouvantait cette grande âme, qui animait un si faible corps. Saint François de Borgia reçut avec joie un pareil trésor; mais la joie de Stanislas fut plus profonde encore, et il en versa un torrent de larmes. Hélas! Cette fleur allait bientôt être cueillie pour le Ciel; dix mois devaient suffire pour le porter à une rare perfection. Son humilité était si admirable, qu'il se regardait comme un grand pécheur et le dernier de ses frères. L'amour de Dieu consumait son coeur au point qu'il fallait, avec des linges mouillés, en tempérer les ardeurs. Cet ange incomparable de vertu s'éteignit presque sans maladie, assisté par sa Mère céleste, un jour de l'Assomption.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_stanislas_kostka.html
Saint Stanislas Kostka
Novice
jésuite (✝ 1568)
Jeune prince
polonais, au caractère fin et décidé, il fit ses études à Vienne puis, à 16
ans, il entra au noviciat des Jésuites de Rome, sur la recommandation de saint Pierre Canisius. Il remit sa vie à Dieu dix mois plus
tard.
"Né d'une grande famille de Pologne en 1550 à Rostkow,
Stanislas s'adonna aux études classiques à Vienne à partir de 1564. Invité par
la Vierge à entrer dans la Compagnie, afin de prévenir l'opposition de son
père, il s'enfuit de chez lui en 1567, parcourant à pied toute l'Allemagne.
Arrivé à Rome, il fut admis au noviciat par saint François de Borgia. C'est
là qu'il mourut le 15 août 1568, parvenu à une haute sainteté. Il fut canonisé
par Benoît XIII en 1726." (site de la Province de France des Jésuites) Il figure au 15 août au martyrologe romain et la
Compagnie de Jésus en fait mémoire au 13 novembre.
Lire aussi: La vie de saint Stanislas Kotstka, novice de la Compagnie de Jésus,
Lyon 1836. Bibliothèque de l'abbaye Saint Benoît de Port-Valais (Suisse)
Au martyrologe romain au 15 août: À Rome, en 1568, saint Stanislas Kostka.
Né en Pologne et désireux, malgré son père, d’entrer dans la Compagnie de
Jésus, il prit la fuite pour quitter la maison familiale et gagner Rome à pied.
Là, saint François de Borgia l’admit au noviciat, mais, arrivé au but en peu de
temps, il mourut rayonnant d’une sainteté précoce, à l’âge de dix-huit ans.
Martyrologe
romain
Commémoré le 15 août (dies natalis) par le
Martyrologe Romain et le
13 novembre dans l’Ordre des Jésuites.
Stanisław Kostka naît le 28 octobre 1550 à Rostkow, près de Varsovie. En 1564, à
14 ans, il fut envoyé à Vienne avec son frère aîné pour compléter ses études
chez les Jésuites.
L’étude et la
vie ordonnée du collège lui plaisaient beaucoup et il pensait déjà se consacrer
à la vie religieuse. Malheureusement les Jésuites durent fermer le collège.
Stanislas, son frère et leur précepteur furent contraints de s’en aller en
acceptant l’hospitalité d’un noble luthérien. Stanislas garda un comportement
religieux exemplaire malgré les pressions du frère, du précepteur et de l’hôte
luthérien qui le critiquaient. Il acceptait tout avec patience et soumission si
bien que la nuit il priait pour eux.
À 17 ans il
tomba gravement malade. Il faut préciser que le jeune homme appartenait à la
confraternité de Sainte Barbara dont les adeptes se confiaient à leur patronne
pour recevoir la Communion au moment de la mort. Stanislas avait pleine
confiance que cela arriverait. En effet, une nuit il réveilla le précepteur qui
le veillait et s’exclama : « Voilà Sainte Barbara ! La voilà avec deux anges !
Elle m’apporte le très Saint Sacrement ! » Et ce fut ainsi :
les Anges s’inclinèrent sur Lui et lui donnèrent la Communion. Le jeune homme,
serein, se remit sur son lit. Quelques jours plus tard, à la surprise générale,
Stanislas se leva parfaitement guéri affirmant qu’il voulait aller
personnellement remercier le Seigneur en manifestant le désir de devenir
prêtre. Le père régional des Jésuites le repoussa à cause de son jeune âge et
du manque de permission paternelle.
Stanislas ne
se découragea pas et tenta aussitôt d’aller en Allemagne et en Italie. Il
enleva ses beaux vêtements pour mettre ceux d’un paysan et se dirigea vers
Augusta où résidait le grand saint Pierre Canisio, père provincial des Jésuites
en Allemagne.
En
s’apercevant de son absence, son frère le chercha longtemps et fut pris de
remords pour sa conduite hostile. Saint Pierre Canisio évalua avec grande
attention la vocation du jeune homme et décida de l’envoyer au séminaire des Jésuites
à Rome. Dans la lettre de présentation il écrivit : « Stanislas, noble polonais, jeune homme droit
et plein de zèle, fut accueilli pendant un certain temps dans le collège des
pensionnaires de Dillingen. Il fut toujours précis dans son propre devoir et
solide dans sa vocation. [...] Nous attendons de grandes choses de lui. »
D'Augsbourg,
l'obéissance le conduisit à Rome où saint François de Borgia reçut avec joie un
pareil trésor ; mais la joie de Stanislas fut plus profonde encore, et il en
versa un torrent de larmes.
Hélas ! Cette
fleur allait bientôt être cueillie pour le Ciel ; dix mois devaient suffire
pour le porter à une rare perfection. Son humilité était si admirable, qu'il se
regardait comme un grand pécheur et le dernier de ses frères. L'amour de Dieu
consumait son cœur au point qu'il fallait, avec des linges mouillés, en
tempérer les ardeurs.
Cet ange
incomparable de vertu s'éteignit, en 1568, presque sans maladie, assisté par sa
Mère céleste, le jour de l'Assomption.
Stanisław Kostka a été béatifié
par le pape Paul V (Camillo Borghese, 1605-1621) le 09 octobre 1605 et canonisé par le pape Benoît XIII (Pietro
Francesco Orsini, 1724-1730) le 31 décembre 1726.
Pour un approfondissement
biographique :
Source principale : forumreligioncatholique.com ; paroisseststan.ca ; wikipédia.org (« Rév. x gpm »).
©Evangelizo.org
2001-2015
13 novembre
Saint STANISLAS KOSTKA, religieux
Mémoire
Commun
des religieux (p. 271).
OFFICE DES LECTURES
DEUXIÈME
LECTURE
Extraits
des Lettres Annuelles du Collège de la Compagnie de Jésus à Vienne et des
lettres de saint Pierre Canisius, prêtre et docteur de l'Eglise.
Jésus et
la Compagnie occupaient son cœur jour et nuit.
Un jeune
Polonais, appartenant à une noble famille, mais encore plus noble par sa vertu,
a passé deux années entières auprès des Nôtres à Vienne. Cependant, il n'était
pas possible de le recevoir sans le consentement de ses parents, non seulement
parce qu'il avait été notre pensionnaire et sans discontinuer élève de notre
collège, mais aussi pour un certain nombre d'autres raisons (en effet, les
Pères se sont engagés à n'accepter dans la Compagnie aucun de leurs
pensionnaires sans le consentement de leurs parents) ; aussi a-t-il toujours
essuyé un refus. Il y a peu de jours, désespérant d'entrer ici dans la
Compagnie, il est parti ailleurs voir s'il lui serait possible de réaliser son
désir en un autre lieu.
Il a été
un grand exemple de constance et de piété ; aimé de tous, il ne fut à charge à
personne ; enfant par l'âge, adulte par la prudence, petit de corps, grand
de cœur. Chaque jour, il entendait deux messes ; plus souvent que les autres,
il se confessait et recevait le Corps du Christ et priait longuement. Elève de
rhétorique, non seulement il égalait, mais dépassait ses condisciples qui, peu
de temps avant, lui étaient supérieurs. Jésus et la Compagnie étaient en son
cœur jour et nuit ; en pleurant, il pressait les supérieurs de l'y recevoir. Il
demandait même une lettre au Légat du Souverain Pontife pour contraindre les
Nôtres. Mais ce fut toujours en vain.
C'est
pourquoi il décida, malgré ses parents, son frère et toute sa famille, de
prendre la route et de chercher par un autre chemin à entrer dans la Compagnie
de Jésus. Au cas où cela ne réussirait pas, il prit la résolution de passer
toute sa vie sur les routes et, par amour pour le Christ, de mener une vie de
pauvreté et d'humiliation. Lorsque les Nôtres eurent connaissance de ses
pensées, ils tentèrent de le dissuader et l'encouragèrent à voyager avec son
frère qui pensait devoir bientôt partir pour la Pologne ; ils lui dirent que si
ses parents voyaient sa constance, ils donneraient peut-être leur consentement
à sa requête.
Mais lui
demeurait inébranlé, disant qu'il était vain d'espérer cela de ses parents, car
ils les connaissait mieux que les autres ; il se devait d'accomplir la promesse
qu'il avait faite au Christ. C'est pourquoi, son précepteur et ses confesseurs
ne parvenant pas à le faire changer d'avis et de résolution, un matin, après
avoir reçu le Corps du Christ, à l'insu de son surveillant et de son frère,
disant adieu aux richesses de son patrimoine, il laissa les vêtements qu'il
portait à l'école et à la maison ; et s'habillant d'une toile de sac, il prit
le bâton à la main et quitta Vienne à la manière d'un jeune paysan pauvre. Dieu
seul sait ce qui lui arrivera. Nous espérons cependant qu'un tel départ n'a pas
eu lieu sans un secret dessein de Dieu. En effet, il a toujours été d'une telle
constance qu'il ne paraît pas avoir agi puérilement, mais mû par une
inspiration du ciel.
C'est
aussi ce que pensa Pierre Canisius, alors Provincial de Germanie Supérieure. En
effet, comme Stanislas était arrivé à Dillingen, il ne tarda pas à l'envoyer à
Rome, écrivant au Père Général, François de Borgia, les lignes suivantes : «
Celui qui vous apportera cette lettre sous la conduite du Christ vous est
envoyé par notre Province. Stanislas est un jeune Polonais, noble, bon et
studieux, que nos Pères de Vienne n'ont pas osé recevoir comme novice de peur
d'irriter sa famille. Il est venu me trouver dans le but de mettre à exécution
le vœu qu'il avait fait depuis longtemps (en effet, il avait fait vœu d'entrer
dans la Compagnie quelques années avant d'être admis). J'ai mis sa vocation à
l'épreuve, durant quelque temps, dans le pensionnat de Dillingen ; on l'a toujours
trouvé fidèle dans ses emplois et ferme dans sa vocation. Il désirait pourtant
être envoyé à Rome pour s'éloigner davantage des siens, dont il redoutait les
persécutions, et faire de plus grands progrès dans la piété. Jamais, jusqu'ici,
il n'a vécu parmi nos novices ; mais on pourra le mettre parmi ceux de Rome
pour faire son noviciat. Quant à nous, nous fondons sur lui de grandes
espérances. »
(Litt. Ann. Coll.
Vindobonensis, 1er sept. 1567 : Arch. Rom. S.J., Epist. Germaniae, 140, ff.
75r-v ; B. Petri
Canisii s.j., Epistulae et Acta , ed. Braunsberger s.j., vol. 6,
Fribourg-en-Brisgau, 1913, pp. 63-64).
Jésuites : serviteurs de la mission du Christ - ©
Compagnie de Jésus
St. Stanislas Kostka
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 Fathersat 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 Viennathe 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 harshcomments 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. Stanislasquickly
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 precarious charity 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 brother Paul 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 which Stanislas 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
theglorious 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 is invoked 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.
Sources
Lives of Stanislas were written at Rome in the year
of his death by Fathers Fazio and Warsevitz (Brussels, 1895). The former
remained in manuscript, but the substance of both has been given in later
biographies. Among these latter the most complete and most fully based on
documentary evidence is that of Ubaldindi in Analecta Bollandiana,
IX-XVI (1890-1897). Equally worthy of recommendation are the works of Sacchini,
Bartoli, Gruber, Goldie, and Michel.
Van Ortroy, Francis. "St. Stanislas
Kostka." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New
York: Robert Appleton Company,1912. 9 Apr. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14245b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Neil O'Sullivan. Alumnus of Kostka Hall in Melbourne, Australia.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Neil O'Sullivan. Alumnus of Kostka Hall in Melbourne, Australia.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil
Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of
New York.
Pierre Legros le Jeune (1666-1719). Saint Stanislas Kostka sur son lit de mort,
Rome, Couvent jésuite près de Sant'Andrea al Quirinale,
Stanislaus Kostka, SJ (RM)
Born in Rostkovo Castle, Poland, October 28, 1550; died 1568. Son of a Polish,
Stanislaus was educated by a private tutor and then sent to the Jesuit college
in Vienna when he was 14. He was soon known for his studious ways, deep
religious fervor, and mortifications. After he recovered from a serious illness
during which he experienced several visions, he decided to join the Jesuits.
Opposed by his father he was refused admission by the Vienna provincial, who
feared the father's reaction if he admitted the youth, Stanislaus walked 350
miles to Dillengen where Saint Peter Canisius, provincial of Upper Germany,
took him in and then sent him to Rome to Francis Borgia, father general of the
Society of Jesus, who accepted him into the Jesuits in October 1567, at age 17.
He practiced the most severe mortifications, experienced ecstasies at Mass, and
lived a life of great sanctity and angelic innocence. He died in Rome on August
15, only nine months after joining the Jesuits, and was canonized in 1726. He
is one of the lesser patrons of Poland (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney). Saint
Stanislaus is generally rendered in art as a very young Jesuit in adoration
before a monstrance.
Sometimes (1) two
angels and Saint Barbara bring him the Eucharist; (2) the Virgin and Child
appear to him; or (3) there is a pilgrim's staff and hat near him (Roeder).
Venerated in
Poland. Patron of young people (because of his youth). Invoked against broken
limbs, eye troubles, fever, and palpitation. Also when in doubt (Roeder).
St. Stanislas Kostka, Confessor
YOUTH is the
amiable bloom of age in which sanctity has particular advantages and charms; a
circumstance which recommends to our admiration this saint, who in his tender
years surpassed the most advanced in the gifts of grace and virtue. Stanislas
was the youngest son of John Kostka, senator of Poland, and of Margaret Kriska,
sister to the palatine of Masovia, and was born in the castle of Rostkou, on
the 28th of October, in 1550. His mother engraved in his tender heart early and
deep impressions of piety; and the first use the saint made of his reason was
to consecrate himself to God with a fervour beyond his age. The first elements
of letters he learned at home under a private tutor named John Bilinski, who
attended him and his elder brother, Paul, to the numerous college of the
Jesuits at Vienna, when the saint was fourteen years old. From the first dawn
of reason he showed no inclination to any thing but to piety; and as soon as he
was capable, he gave as much of his time as possible to prayer and study. His nicety
in the point of purity, and his dread of detraction, and all dangers of sin,
made him infinitely cautious in the choice of his company. When he arrived at
Vienna, and was lodged among the pensioners of the Jesuits, every one was
struck with admiration to see the profound recollection and devotion with which
he poured forth his soul before God in prayer: the modesty and glowing fervour
which appeared in his countenance at those times, raised in all who beheld him
a veneration for his person. He sometimes fell into raptures, and often even at
public prayer torrents of sweet tears gushed from his eyes with such
impetuosity that he was not able to contain them. He always came from his
devotions so full of the spirit of God, that he communicated the same to those
who conversed with him. The fire of divine love which burnt in his breast, he
kindled in the hearts of several devout companions, with whom it was his
delight to discourse on God and heavenly things; on which subjects he spoke
with such energy, as imparted to others some sparks of that joy with which his
heart and words overflowed.
His innocence
and virtue stood yet in need of being perfected by trials. Upon the death of
the Emperor Ferdinand, in 1564, his successor Maximilian II., who had not the
same zeal for religion, took from the Jesuits the house which Ferdinand had
lent them for the lodging of their pensioners. Paul Kostka, who was two years
older than the saint, and who had their tutor Bilinski always in his interest,
was fond of liberty and diversions; and to indulge this inclination prevailed
with Bilinski to take lodgings in a Lutheran’s house; and looking upon his
brother’s conduct as a censure of his own, treated him continually with
injuries, and often struck and beat him. Bilinski was still a more dangerous
tempter and persecutor, not only by declaring always for the elder brother
against him, but also by endeavouring to persuade him by flattering
insinuations and severe rebukes that he ought to allow more to the world, and
that so much was not necessary for a person in his station to save his soul.
Stanislas, far from being overcome, stood the more firmly upon his guard, and
opposed these assaults by redoubling his fervour. He communicated every Sunday
and great holiday, and always fasted the day before his communion; never went
to school morning or afternoon, without first going to church to salute the
blessed sacrament; heard every day two masses, and made his meditation, slept
little, and always rose at midnight to pray; he often wore a hair shirt;
frequently took the discipline; never made his appearance in company only at
table; and instantly rose up and left it, if any unbecoming word was let fall
by any one in his presence. When he was not at church or college he was always
to be found at his devotions or studies in his closet, except for a short time
after meals. By this conduct he deserved to be interiorly enlightened and
strengthened by the Holy Ghost, who, by his inspirations, showed him how
opposite the false maxims of worldly prudence are to those of the gospel; that
it is an error to pretend to salvation by following them, and that what is
usually called learning the world, is properly learning its spirit and maxims,
which is to forget those of Jesus Christ.
The saint
suffered these dangerous solicitations and persecutions for two years, and then
fell very ill. Finding his distemper dangerous, he desired to receive the
viaticum; but his Lutheran landlord would not suffer it to be brought publicly
to his house, and the tutor and brother would have it deferred. The pious
youth, in extreme affliction, recommended himself to the intercession of St.
Barbara, who is particularly invoked in the northern kingdoms, for the grace of
a happy death and the benefit of receiving the last sacraments. His prayer was
heard; and he seemed in a vision to be communicated by two angels. The Blessed
Virgin, in another vision, told him, that the hour of his death was not yet
come, and bade him devote himself to God in the Society of Jesus. He had then
for about a year entertained thoughts of embracing that state; and after his
recovery petitioned the superiors to be admitted. F. Magius, provincial of that
part of Germany, who happened then to be at Vienna, durst not receive him, for fear
of incurring the indignation of his father, who warmly declared, he never would
consent that his son should become a religious man. Cardinal Commendon, legate
of Pope Pius V. at Vienna, whom the saint desired to recommend him to the
provincial, durst not undertake to do it. Stanislas, therefore, having
discovered his resolution to his confessor, and by a tender and edifying letter
laid in his room, left notice of his design to his tutor and brother, stole
away privately to Ausburg, and thence went to Dilingen, to make the same
request to the pious F. Canisius, provincial of Upper Germany. F. Canisius, to
try his vocation, ordered him to wait on the pensioners of the college at
table, and cleanse out their rooms; which the saint did with such extraordinary
affection and humility, that the students were exceedingly astonished at his
meekness, charity, devotion, and spirit of mortification, though he was utterly
unknown to them. F. Canisius, after having kept him three weeks, sent him to
Rome, where the saint threw himself at the feet of St. Francis Borgia, then
general of the Society, and earnestly renewed his petition. St. Francis
received him with great joy. Stanislas had no desire to see the curiosities of
Rome, but without further delay entered upon a retreat under the master of
novices, during the whole course of which he was favoured with the sweetest
consolations of the Holy Ghost, and extraordinary heavenly communications. He
took the habit on SS. Simon and Jude’s day in 1567; and a few days after received
from his father a most passionate letter with threats that he would procure the
banishment of the Jesuits out of Poland, and would make them feel the weight of
his indignation for having concurred to such a dishonour of his family.
Stanislas answered it in the most modest and dutiful manner, but expressed a
firm purpose of serving God according to his vocation. And, without the least
disturbance or trouble of mind, applied himself to his religious duties, calmly
recommending all things to God.
It was the
saint’s utmost study and endeavour to regulate and sanctify, in the most
perfect manner, all his ordinary actions in every circumstance, particularly by
the most pure and fervent intention of fulfilling the will of God, and by the
greatest exactitude in every point of duty. Christianity teaches us that we are
not to listen to the prudence of the flesh which is death to the
soul. Stanislas, therefore, set no bounds to his mortifications but what
obedience to his director prescribed him. In the practice of obedience to his
superiors such was his exactitude, that as he was one day carrying wood with a
fellow-novice, he would not help the other in taking up a load upon his
shoulders, till he had made it less, because it was larger than the brother who
superintended the work had directed, though the other had taken no notice of
such an order. His own faults he always exaggerated with unfeigned simplicity,
so as to set them in a light in which only humility, which makes a person most
severe in condemning himself, could have represented them. Whence others said
of him, that he was his own grievous calumniator. As pride feels a pleasure in
public actions, so his greatest delight was secrecy, or some humbling
circumstance whenever he made his appearance in public; as, a more than
ordinary threadbare habit, by which he might seem to strangers to be a person
of no consideration in the house, as he looked upon himself, and desired to be
regarded by others. Nothing gave him so much confusion and displeasure as to
hear himself commended; and he was ingenious in preventing all occasions of it,
and in shunning every thing by which he might appear to others humble. The
whole life of this fervent novice seemed almost a continual prayer: nor was his
prayer almost any other than an uninterrupted exercise of the most tender love
of God, which often vented itself in torrents of sweet tears, or in holy
transports or raptures. By the habitual union of his heart with God he seemed,
in the opinion of his directors, never to be molested with distractions at his
prayers. Several, by having recommended themselves with confidence to his good
thoughts, have suddenly found themselves comforted, and freed from bitter
anguish of soul, and interior trouble of mind. The ardent love which the saint
had for Jesus Christ in the holy sacrament was so sensible, that his face
appeared all on fire as soon as he entered the church. He was often seen in a
kind of ecstacy at mass, and always after receiving the holy communion. The
whole day on which he communicated, he could not, without great difficulty and
reluctance, speak of anything but the excess of the love which Jesus Christ has
expressed for us in that adorable sacrament; and of this he discoursed with
such interior feeling and joy, and in so pathetic a manner, that the most
experienced and spiritual fathers took great delight in conversing with him.
This holy
seraph, glowing with divine love, was inflamed with an uncommon ardour to be
speedily united to the object of his love a considerable time before his happy
death, which he distinctly foretold to several. In the beginning of August he
said to several together, that all men are bound to watch, because they may die
any day: but that this lesson particularly regarded him, because he should
certainly die before the end of that month. Four days after, discoursing with
F. Emmanuel Sa, concerning the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, he said, in
a kind of transport of devotion: “O father, how happy a day to all the saints,
was that on which the Blessed Virgin was received into heaven! I doubt not but
they all celebrate the anniversary of it with extraordinary joy, as we do on
earth. I hope myself to see the next feast they will keep of it.” His youth,
and the perfect health which he then enjoyed, made others give no credit to
this prediction. Yet they perceived that he made all immediate preparations for
the great journey of eternity. On St. Laurence’s day, in the evening, he found
himself indisposed: upon which he could not contain his joy that the end of his
mortal pilgrimage drew near. Being carried to the infirmary he made the sign of
the cross upon his bed, saying, he should never more rise out of it. His fever
proved at first only intermitting; yet he repeated the same assurances. On the
14th day of the month he said, in the morning, that he should die the night
following: a little after mid-day he fell into a swoon, which was followed with
a cold sweat, and he demanded and received the viaticum and extreme unction
with the most tender devotion; during which, according to his desire, he was
laid upon a blanket on the floor. He begged pardon of all his brethren for
whatever offences he had committed against any one, and continued repeating
frequent aspirations of compunction and divine love. Some time after, he said
that he saw the Blessed Virgin accompanied with many angels, and happily
expired a little after three o’clock in the morning of the 15th of August, in
1568, having completed only nine months and eighteen days of his novitiate, and
of his age seventeen years, nine months, and eighteen days. The sanctity of his
life, and several manifest miracles engaged Clement VIII. to beatify
him, that is, declare him happy, in 1604. Paul V. allowed an office to be said
in his honour, in all the churches of Poland; Clement X. granted that privilege
to the Society, and settled his feast on the 13th of November, on which his
body, which was found sound, and without the least signs of decay or
corruption, was translated from the old chapel and laid in the new church of
the Novitiate at Rome, founded by Prince Pamphili. The saint was canonized by
Benedict XIII., in 1727. The Poles have chosen him jointly with St. Casimir,
chief patron of their kingdom: and he is particular patron of the cities of
Warsaw, Posna, Lublin, and Leopold. The Poles ascribe to his intercession the
deliverance of their country from a pestilence, and several victories of King
Ladislas over the Turks, and others of his brother and successor, Casimir, over
the Tartars and Cosaques, in 1651. Many miraculous cures have been wrought
through his intervention. A relation of this that follows, with the
attestations of five eminent physicians and a surgeon, and of all the Jesuits
then living at Lima, and witnesses to the fact, approved by the vicariat, (the
archbishopric being then vacant,) was printed at Madrid, in 1674. A novice in
the convent of the Jesuits at Lima, after a malignant fever, in the month of
October, was deprived by a palsy of all motion on the whole right side of his
body, so that he was not able to stir in the least that hand or foot. A
loathing of all food, with a fever, and other bad symptoms attended the
disorder, which the physicians judged incurable. On the feast of St. Stanislas,
the 13th of November, by applying a picture of the saint to that side, he found
the motion and feeling in those parts instantly restored, and himself in
perfect health. Certain companions who were present, called the rector, and the
whole house followed him. The novice who was recovered, arose and dressed
himself, and walked to the church as well as if he had never been sick. The
whole community accompanied him, and sung a solemn Te Deum. See the new edition
of this saint’s life, compiled by F. Orleans, published since his canonization.
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume XI: November. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
Voir aussi : Vie de Saint Stanislas Kostka, Novice de la Compagnie de Jésus.Lyon, 1836 : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/stanislas/index.htm
http://imagessaintes.canalblog.com/archives/2009/04/20/13453653.html
