Description
Saint Stanislaus Kostka, a young Jesuit of determined faith
Saint Stanislaus Kostka (1550-1568) was born into a Polish noble family at Rostkowo and sent to study at the Jesuit college in Vienna. Convinced that God was calling him to the Society of Jesus despite family opposition, he left Vienna, traveled through Germany, and reached Rome. There he was received into the novitiate by Saint Francis Borgia in 1567 and died less than a year later.
How to read the icon
The icon shows Stanislaus as a very young man in a black Jesuit cassock, with a halo and rosary. His crossed hands express recollection and wholehearted self-offering rather than social rank. The quiet frontal pose reflects the quality for which Jesuit sources remember him: youthful holiness joined to firm discernment and perseverance in following his vocation.
Patron of youth and Jesuit novices
Saint Stanislaus is honored as a patron of young people and, within the Society of Jesus, of novices. His image is well suited to prayer for students, seminarians, novices, and anyone discerning a vocation or facing resistance to a conscientious decision. It can be given for Confirmation, graduation, entry into formation, or a feast day on November 13.
Crafted on linden wood in Poland
Art Christiana makes this icon in Poland on a carefully prepared linden wood board. The surface receives two primer coats, hand-applied metal leaf and a directly transferred image. A certificate and hanging fixture are fitted on the reverse, and the icon arrives in a protective presentation box.