The universal calendar of the Catholic Church places the feast of St. Stanislaus of Krakow on April 11, though it is celebrated in Poland on May 8.
St. John Paul II had a special devotion to St. Stanislaus, as he considered himself one of his successors.
When celebrating Mass in his honor on June 10, 1979, St. John Paul II connected St. Stanislaus’ life to the sacrament of confirmation:
Just as a baptized person comes to Christian maturity by means of this sacrament of Confirmation, so Divine Providence gave to our nation [Poland], after its Baptism, the historical moment of Confirmation. Saint Stanislaus, who was separated by almost a whole century from the period of the Baptism and from the mission of Saint Adalbert, especially symbolizes this moment by the fact that he rendered witness to Christ by his own blood.
Witness to Christ
St. Stanislaus was a martyr, giving his life for the faith when Poland was a young nation. This example, St. John Paul II notes, is similar to the sacrament of confirmation and how young people are challenged to become witnesses to Christ:
In the life of each Christian — usually a young Christian because it is in youth that one receives this sacrament, and Poland too was then a young nation, a young country—the sacrament of Confirmation must make him or her become a “witness to Christ” according to the measure of one’s own life and proper vocation. This is a sacrament that is especially associated with the mission of the Apostles inasmuch as it introduces every baptized person into the apostolate of the Church (especially into the so-called apostolate of the laity).
He further comments on the sacrament of confirmation and how St. Stanislaus is a perfect example of that sacrament lived out in life:
The sacrament of Confirmation is received by us only once in our lifetime (just as Baptism is received only once). All of life that opens up in view of this sacrament assumes the aspect of a great and fundamental test: a test of faith and of character.Saint Stanislaus has become, in the spiritual history of the Polish people, the patron of this great and fundamental test of faith and of character.
St. Stanislaus successfully passed the test of faith and character in his life, able to persevere in the faith when his life was threatened and ultimately taken from him.
After we are confirmed, we too will have to endure many tests. St. Stanislaus is a perfect intercessor for us (and for all young people), especially when we are in the midst of the testing of our faith.
And today we celebrate...