Kinga of Poland

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Wooden statue of St. Kinga in Wiślica , Poland

Kinga of Poland (also Saint Kunigunde of Poland ; * 1224 in Esztergom , Hungary ; † July 24, 1292 in Alt-Sandez , Poland ) was a Hungarian crown princess from the royal family of the Árpáden . She was by marriage from 1239 Polish Duchess of Sandomir and from 1243 of Krakow . She is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church .

Life

Kinga came from the Hungarian royal family and was the daughter of King Béla IV and Maria Laskarina . Her mother was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor of Nicaea , Theodor I. Laskaris and Anna Angelina from the Byzantine house of Angelos . Her family had a very strong relationship with the faith and the Church. In addition to Kinga, other members of this dynasty were canonized or beatified, e. B. the Hungarian King Stephen I and two sisters of Kinga, St. Margaret and the Blessed Jolanta-Helena.

When she first met her future mother-in-law in Wojnicz in 1239 , Kinga was able to establish close contact with her very quickly, as both were marked by a strong religiousness . This helped her to survive the first difficult years of her stay in Poland and had a lasting influence on her. The idea of ​​a sacred role model developed and the desire for a “model saint” for their new home Poland grew stronger. In their opinion, this saint should bring closer to people in all countries and in all faiths the love of the Fatherland and the Church. That is why she has since worked intensively with the Bishop of Cracow , Jan Prandota, and above all supported the canonization of Bishop Stanislaus of Cracow .

Kinga married the Polish Duke Bolesław V in 1239 , to whom she was promised at the age of five. According to legend, the spouses lived their entire lives in complete chastity , which earned Bolesław the nickname “the chaste”. The two left no offspring.

estate

Statue of St. Kinga in Budapest

Kinga founded the Alt-Sandecz Poor Clare Monastery , which she entered after the death of her husband and where she died on July 24, 1292. This day is celebrated as a Catholic memorial and name day.

In 1999 Kinga was canonized by Pope John Paul II , the beatification had already taken place on June 11, 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII .

Today she is considered the patron saint of Poland and Lithuania .

Salt mining

Kinga is also considered the patron saint of miners. According to the founding legend of the salt mine in Wieliczka, she is said to have thrown her engagement ring into a crevice near Kraków. Salt is said to have been found at the site and a salt mine was built. It also promoted salt mining in Bochnia and in 1251 it is said to have brought Hungarian miners into the country. In Wieliczka and Bochnia, impressive underground chapels have been dedicated to her, a ring enclosed in a salt stone is one of her attributes.

  • St. Kinga Chapel in the Wieliczka Salt Mine

  • Statue of St. Kinga made from rock salt

  • Kinga Chapel in the Bochnia Salt Mine

  • A miner shows Kinga the salt stone with her enclosed ring


literature

Web links

Commons : Kinga of Poland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Beatification 1690 after Stadler.
  2. ^ Kinga of Poland in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
personal data
SURNAME Kinga of Poland
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kunigunde of Poland
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish duchess
DATE OF BIRTH 1224
PLACE OF BIRTH Esztergom , Hungary
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 1292
Place of death Stary Sącz , Poland