Saint Adalbert, venerated in Poland as św. Wojciech, is regarded as one of the country’s most important patron saints and is known internationally as St Adalbert of Prague. He was born in 956 in Libice, a small settlement in Bohemia. At the age of only 27, Adalbert became the first Archbishop of Prague. He found his true vocation, however, in missionary work among the pagan Prussians. Supported by the Polish ruler Boleslaus the Brave, who provided him with an escort as far as Gdańsk, he continued his journey with several monks to proclaim the Gospel. His courageous mission ended tragically when he and his companions were murdered on the Baltic coast in the spring of 997.
Only two years later, in 999, Pope Sylvester II canonised Adalbert. King Boleslaus had his body transferred to the cathedral in Gniezno, Poland’s first capital and an episcopal seat, where his remains were solemnly laid to rest. In 1039, they were taken to Prague, but Gniezno, the site of his first tomb, remained a living centre of devotion to Saint Adalbert.
One of the principal patron saints of Poland and of the city of Krakow, Stanislaus was born in Szczepanów in 1030 and served as Bishop of Krakow. His life ended tragically when King Boleslaus II the Bold killed him while he was celebrating Holy Mass in a Krakow church, following the bishop’s open criticism of the ruler’s actions. Pope Innocent IV canonised him in 1253.
A miraculous legend surrounds his death. It is said that his body, cut into four pieces, was mysteriously reunited after his death. Today, the relics of St Stanislaus rest in an elaborately decorated silver coffin within a Baroque martyr’s shrine at the centre of Wawel Cathedral in Krakow.
Each year, on the Sunday following 8 May, the feast day of Saint Stanislaus, Krakow hosts a special event: a magnificent ceremonial procession carrying his relics through the city. Cardinals, bishops, priests and members of all the city’s religious communities take part. Accompanied by orchestral music and sung prayers, representatives of numerous professional and traditional groups also join the procession in colourful costumes, keeping this deeply rooted tradition alive.
