Saint Stanisław Starowieyski

Stanisław Kostka Starowieyski (1895-1941) is Polish Blessed of the Catholic Church, who was a church, social, and charitable activist, as well as and a papal chamberlain. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I and then served in the Polish Armed Forces during the Polish–Ukrainian and Polish–Soviet Wars from 1918 to 1920. He died in Dachau concentration camp, and was beatified in 1999. Stanisław Kostka Maria Gerard Franciszek de Hieronymo Biberstein Starowieyski was born on May 11, 1895, in Ustrobna, as the third child of Stanisław Jan and Amelia née Łubieńska. His father was a member of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria, the Imperial Council, and the Legislative Sejm (1919–1922), and owned estates in Bratkówka and Korabniki. The family was of noble origin, related to the Bibersteins. Stanisław spent his early childhood at the domestic estate of Bratkówka. The Starowieyskis were strongly attached to the Catholic Church and led many social activities in the Catholic community, following reforms launched at the time by Pope Pius X. Like his siblings, Stanisław was tutored at home in Krosno. Later, residing in Bratkówka, Stanisław studied in Sanok at the C.K. Gimnazjum (Imperial and Royal Gymnasium), today known as Primary School No. 8 Sophia of Halshany, where he completed Grades 1-3 from 1905 to 1908. In 1910, Stanisław moved to the Jesuit College in Khyriv. In 1914 he finished 8th grade and passed his final exam. At this institution, he joined the Roman Catholic society Sodality of Our Lady. After graduating high school, Starowieyski began studying law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. On September 15, 1914, Starowieyski was mobilized into the Austro-Hungarian Army and sent to officer training.