Procession of St Stanislaus

St Stanislaus (Stanisław), the main patron saint of Poland was a Kraków Bishop. His conflict with King Boleslaus the Bald (Bolesław Śmiały) ended in the martyrdom of the Bishop, who was killed on the orders of the King in 1079 in the Romanesque Church “On the Rock” (Na Skałce). In 1253, Pope Innocent IV announced that Bishop Stanislaw of Szczepanów was a saint of the Catholic Church. The first pilgrimage from the Wawel Cathedral, where the grave of the saint is located, to the place of his death – Skałka – took place on 8th May 1254. Since that time, the procession leaves the cathedral on the first Sunday following the 8th May.

Today, the procession is a real marvel to look at: relics of saints and the blessed from the Kraków Archdiocese – including St Stanislaus, St Brother Albert, St Faustina, St Jacek (Hyacinth), and St Florian – are carried together with plenty of feretra, banners, figures and other religious symbols. Participants in the procession include representatives of the clergy, universities, the city council and brotherhoods; also participating in folk costumes are congregations from various parts of the region and the country, and plenty of people from Kraków and the surrounding neighbourhood. Sermons during the Holy Mass sung in the Church “on the Rock” were recently preached by Bishop Karol Wojtyła and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. Notably, the departure of the procession from Wawel is accompanied by the sound of the Sigismund Bell, which “speaks” only at times of great importance for the country and the city.