Saint Stanislaus Papczynski — The Life and Writings

The birth and early life of the saint The year was 1631. A woman very close to giving birth was in a boat, crossing the rushing waters of the Dunajec River in the heart of the Sądecka Valley of Poland. A storm suddenly arose and capsized the boat. The woman fell into the water. Miraculously, she escaped with her life. During the night, from May 17 to 18, she gave birth to her son. Grateful for her deliv- erance and mindful of a promise she had made, the woman of- fered the child to God and entrusted him to Our Lady. The child’s name was John Papka — the youngest of the eight children of Sophia and Thomas. He was baptized on the very same day in St. James the Apostle Church in the rural vil- lage of Podegrodzie in southern Poland. Thus, he began the great adventure of his life dedicated to the Lord to whom he would one day dedicate himself exclusively. He who would one day be a prominent theologian and philosopher, as well as an esteemed preacher and orator, did not initially show promise as a scholar. He faced great difficul- ties in learning the alphabet, and there was nothing to indicate that he would make any meaningful academic progress in the future. So his parents took him out of school, and the young John, instead of studying, tended sheep. yet, after a certain time, one of his father’s friends in the country helped John, and unbeknownst to his parents, he returned to school. Thanks to the extraordinary intervention of God’s Providence, he was able to master the alphabet in just one day! Thus, his happy parents approved his further education. John finished grammar school with great success. Then he began his more involved journey in higher educa- tion—a time full of trials that brought him through Nowy Sącz, Jarosław, Podoliniec, and Rawa Mazowiecka, where he studied mainly at Jesuit preparatory schools and colleges. In the mean- time, he had changed his last name to “Papczynski” as a sign of achieving a higher social status. After finishing his philosophy studies at the age of 23, John returned home to Podegrodzie,