Deepertruth: Eucharistic Miracle Saint Stanislaus Koska, 1550-1568

Saint Stanislaus Kostka, at the age of seventeen, was so gravely ill that he seemed very near the end of his life. In that time, he lived as the guest of a noble Protestant who would not even permit him to be visited by a Catholic priest.

Stanislaus was not discouraged and one night, in the presence of his tutor, he received Communion in a miraculous way. A few days later he recovered and decided to enter the Jesuit order.

Saint Stanislaus Kostka was born in 1550 in Rostkow, a few kilometers from Warsaw. In 1564, at age fourteen, Stanislaus was sent to Vienna with his older brother to complete their studies with the Jesuits. He liked his studies and life in the college very much, and considered dedicating himself to religious life. Unfortunately the Jesuits had to close the college and Stanislaus, his brother, and their tutor were forced to leave, accepting the hospitality of a Lutheran nobleman.

Stanislaus maintained exemplary religious behavior, regardless of the pressures from his

brother, tutor, and host - who all criticized him. This was all accepted with patience and submission by Stanislaus, and during the night he even prayed for them.

At about age seventeen, Stanislaus became gravely ill. It is necessary to note that he

belonged to the Fraternity of Saint Barbara - whose members trust their patroness to bring

them Communion upon the point of death. In this Stanislaus had total faith, and in fact

one night woke up his tutor, who was keeping his vigil, exclaiming: “Here is Saint Barbara! Here she is, with two angels! She’s bringing me the Blessed Sacrament!” 

And so it was, the angels knelt by him and he was given Holy Communion. manifest his desire to become a religious.