Ceslaus of Wroclaw

Bust of Ceslaus von Breslau in the City Hall of Wroclaw

Ceslaus von Breslau ( Polish : Czesław Odrowąż ) (* around 1184 in Groß Stein , Upper Silesia ; † 1242 in Breslau ) was a lawyer and missionary . He is also known as the Apostle of Silesia or Savior of the Wroclaw Castle . The cult around him as blessed of the Catholic Church was officially initiated by Pope Clement XI. Confirmed at the beginning of the 18th century. He has been officially the patron saint of Wroclaw since 1963 . His feast day is theJuly 15 , which is also believed to be the day of his death. In Wroclaw he will also be remembered on July 20th .

Life

Ceslaus was born Count Ceslaus Odrowąż and was a relative, possibly brother, of the later Hyacinth of Poland . He first studied law and theology in Prague and at the University of Bologna . After returning to Poland, he worked as a church lawyer. Through his uncle Iwo Odrowąż , who was bishop of Cracow , he became canon in Cracow and later custodian of Sandomir . He accompanied his uncle on a trip to Rome with Hyacinth . There he met St. Dominic and was accepted into the order of the Dominicans by Dominic together with his brother . After that he went first to Prague and later to Breslau . After successfully serving as a missionary in Prague, he founded a monastery near Breslau , of which he was also the first prior . Overall he did missionary work in Bohemia , Poland, Pomerania and Saxony . He is said to have worked with Saint Hedwig .

His relics have been in the Ceslaus Chapel of the Adalbert Church in Wroclaw since 1724 , which is a Dominican church and is one of the oldest in the city.

Attributed miracles

During the Mongol storm he is said to have prevented the extermination of the Wroclaw population through a prayer. He is also said to have raised four people from death.

literature

• Johannes Chrząszcz : Three Silesian national saints. Saint Hyacinth , blessed Ceslaus and blessed Bronislawa . GP Aderholz, Breslau 1897 ( digitized version )
• Ekkart Sauser:  Ceslaus. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 15, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-077-8 , Sp. 408-409.
• Franz Xaver Seppelt:  Ceslaus. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 185 ( digitized version ).
• Adolf Schimmelpfennig :  Ceslaus Odrovasius . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 92 f.

Web links

Commons : Ceslaus von Breslau  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
• Wojciech Kucharski: Le développement de l'iconographie du Bienheureux Ceslas (German: The development of the iconography of Blessed Ceslas ; French). on-line