1030-1079. Bishop of Cracow and martyr. Nobly born at Szczepanow, Poland, he was educated at the cathedral school of Gnesen and then at Paris. While Stanislaus was canon and preacher at Cracow, [[Alexander II]] appointed him bishop there in 1072. Opposing King Boleslaw II because of his long expedition against the Grand Duchy of Kiev (1069) and other scandalous conduct, Stanislaus excommunicated the king, only to be slain by him during Mass for treason. While the defeated king spent his remaining years penitent among Benedictines in Hungary, miracles and legends surrounded the martyred bishop, which cult extended to Lithuania and the Ukraine. He became the patron saint of Poland and was canonized by [[Innocent IV]] in 1253.