Five Fast Facts about Saint Wenceslas

Here are some amazing facts about Saint Wenceslas:

1. Wenceslas’ grandfather, Borivoj I of Bohemia, was converted by Saints Cyril and Methodius, who began the Christianization of Bohemia during Borivoj's reign.

2. His grandmother Ludmila of Bohemia is also a Czech saint and martyr. She was canonized shortly after her death. Her feast is September 16.

3. Wenceslas' father died when Wenceslas was a child. It was his own mother who had his grandmother martyred. When Wenceslas was 18 he assumed leadership of the government and brought in German priests to help strengthen the faith in his duchy.

4. Wenceslas himself was martyred by his younger brother known as Boleslav the Cruel at a feast in honor of Sts. Cosmas and Damien.

5. Wenceslas was considered a martyr and a saint immediately after his death. The biographies that were written in the first fifty years after his death had a powerful influence on the Middle Ages conceptualization of the "righteous king" whose power stems mainly from his great piety.

Quote about St. Wenceslas

In the year 1119 Cosmas of Prague wrote: "But his deeds I think you know better than I could tell you; for, as is read in his Passion, no one doubts that, rising every night from his noble bed, with bare feet and only one chamberlain, he went around to God’s churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty, so much so that he was considered, not a prince, but the father of all the wretched."

~ Via Pauline Books and Media.