Stanislaus Hosius

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Cardinal-Priest of San Clemente (1570–1578) Cardinal-Priest of San Pietro in Vincoli (1578)
Education	University of Padua University of Bologna
Coat of arms

Stanislaus Hosius (

After graduating as doctor of canon and civil law at the University of Bologna on 8 June 1534, he returned to Krakow and became secretary in the royal chancery. On the death of Bishop Tomicki (1535), he continued as secretary under the new vice-chancellor, Bishop Jan Chojeński of Płock. After the death of Bishop Choinski in 1538, Hosius was appointed royal secretary. In that position, he had the entire confidence of King Sigismund, who bestowed various ecclesiastical benefices upon him as reward for his faithful services. In 1543, Hosius was ordained priest. King Sigismund died in 1548, but before his death, he had instructed his son and successor, Sigismund II, to nominate Hosius for the next vacant episcopal see.^[1]

Hosius was nominated for the

The following year, Pope Pius IV appointed Hosius as his personal nuncio to Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, at the court in Vienna, where he was to work on the reopening of the Council of Trent. He was further charged with gaining the support of the emperor's son, Maximilian, who appeared to have Protestant sympathies. For his successful work Hosius was promoted to cardinal in 1561. Pope Pius IV named him Legate-Theologian for the third session of the Council of Trent; the other two legates were Cardinals Puteo and Gonzaga.^[3]

Despite health issues he mediated between the various factions at the Council and addressed issues particular to Poland-Lithuania, such as the status of the Teutonic Knights and the marriage of Stanislaus Orzechowski. When the Council ended, he returned home, despite requests to travel to Rome for the papal conclave that was to be held after the death of the ailing Pius IV. Cardinal Truchess even suggested that Hosius was a candidate for the papacy.^[4] Instead of going to Rome, he returned to his diocese, leaving Trent on December 1563 to implement the decrees and canons of the Council of Trent. In 1566, Pope Pius V consecrated him as Papal Legate to Poland.

Death and legacy

Besides carrying through many difficult negotiations, he founded the lyceum of Braunsberg to counter the rapidly spreading Protestants. It became the centre of the Roman Catholic mission among Protestants.^[2] In 1572, Pope Gregory XIII declared Hosius a member of the Congregatio Germania. He died at Capranica Prenestina, near Rome, on 5 August 1579.

A special friend to Hosius was Saint Peter Canisius. Both Kromer and Hosius left many records of their German speeches and sermons in their years of duty in the Bishopric of Warmia. They were later translated to Czech, English, and French.

A collected edition of his works was published at Cologne, Germany, in 1584. A two-volume biography was written by A. Eichhorn (Mainz, 1854).^[2]

Cause of beatification

The cause of sainthood commenced but paused for a while until it resumed as of 5 August 2006. He is now known as a Servant of God.

See also

• Theatre of the Virtues of the Venerable Stanislaus Hosius – a collection of 105 drawings by the engraver Tomasz Treter, depicting the life of Hosius

Secondary literature

• Theodor Hirsch (1881), "Hosius, Stanislaus", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 13, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 180–184
• Hubert Jedin (1972), "Hosius, Stanislaus", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 9, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 650–651
• Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE), Bd. 15, S. 598-600
• Benrath: Realenzyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche (RE) 3. Auflage Bd. 8 S. 382-392
• Heinz Scheible: Melanchthons Briefwechsel Personen 12 Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt,
  ISBN 3-7728-2258-4
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche (LThK) 3. Auflage Bd. 5 S. 284
• Arno Sames: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG) 4 Auflage, Bd. 3, S. 1912
• Stanislao Rescio (Reszka), D. Stanislai Hosii Vita, in Acta Historica Res Gestas Poloniae illustrantia, tom. IV (ed. by F. Hipler and V. Zakrzewski) (Cracow, 1879), I-CXXIV.

Literature in English

• Henry Damien Wojtyska, C.P., Cardinal Hosius: Legate to the Council of Trent (Rome: Institute of Ecclesiastical Studies, 1967).
  • A review of the above, with some brief information on Hosius himself: Sebastian A. Matczak, The Polish Review, vol. 18, no. 3 (1973), pp. 93–95, JSTOR.
• Michael Ott, O.S.B., "Stanislaus Hosius," Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton, 1910), vol. 7, New Advent.

References

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Stanislaus Hosius". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Wojtyska, Henryk Damian. Cardinal Hosius Legate to the Council of Trent Studia Ecclesiastica, 3 Historica, 4 Dissertationes, 5. Rome,: Institute of ecclesiastical studies, 1967.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hosius, Stanislaus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 790.
• Stanislaus Hosius in the German National Library catalogue
• "Stanislaus Hosius". Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German).
• Stanislai Hosii (...) Opera omnia in duos divisa tomos, quorum primus ab (...) auctore (...) auctus et recognitus (...) secundus autem totus novus, nuncque primum typis excusus (...)
• Stanislai Hosii (...) Opera omnia (...) nunc novissime ab ipso auctore (...) recognita (...) cura (...) Henrici Dunghaei (...) edita (...)
• Ersch / Gruber: Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste VOLUME Sect. 2 T. 11 S. 93^{[permanent dead link]}
• "Entry". Zedlers Universallexikon. Vol. 13. p. 504.
• Four cities of Germany

External links

• Works by Stanislaus Hosius in digital library Polona