Stanislaus Kostka was born in Rostkovo Castle on October 28th, 1550 in the Masovian region of Poland. From his childhood he was noted for his piety and devotion to the Eucharistic Lord and to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. When he was fourteen years old, together with his older brother Paul, Stanislaus was sent to the Jesuit school in Vienna, Austria. Two years later, Stanislaus became ill and was near death. The landlord of the boarding house where Stanislaus lived refused to let the Eucharist be brought into his house. Stanislaus prayed, and according to tradition God sent two angles to him with the Blessed Sacrament. Later, the Blessed Mother appeared to Stanislaus and told him he was to enter the Society of Jesus. Because of the vehement opposition of his father, Stanislaus was refused admission by the Vienna provincial. Undaunted, Stanislaus walked 450 miles to Dillingen in Bavaria where Peter Canisius, provincial of Upper-Germany took him in and sent him to Rome. Only nine months after joining the Jesuits, Stanislaus became deathly ill. He died on the feast of the Assumption, August 15th, 1568. He was 17 years old. He was canonized in 1726. Saint Stanislaus is a Patron Saint of Youth. |
