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Stanislaus Hosius

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Servant of God

Stanislaus Hosius
Prince-Bishop of Warmia
Portrait byMarcello Bacciarelli
ArchdioceseBishopric of Warmia
Appointed2 March 1551
Installed11 May 1551
Term ended5 August 1579
PredecessorTiedemann Giese
SuccessorMarcin Kromer
Other post(s)
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination1543
Consecration23 March 1550
Created cardinal26 February 1561
byPius IV
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Stanisław Hozjusz

5 May 1504
Kraków,Kingdom of Poland
Died5 August 1579(1579-08-05)(aged 75)
Capranica Prenestina,Papal States
NationalityPolish
DenominationRoman Catholic
ParentsUlrich HosseofPforzheim
Education
Coat of armsStanislaus Hosius's coat of arms
Ordination history of
Stanislaus Hosius
History
Cardinalate
Date26 February 1561

Stanislaus Hosius(Polish:Stanisław Hozjusz;5 May 1504 – 5 August 1579) was a PolishRoman Catholic cardinal.From 1551 he was thePrince-Bishopof theBishopric of Warmiain Royal Prussia, and from 1558, he served as the papal legate to theHoly Roman Emperor'sImperial CourtinVienna,Austria.From 1566 he was also thepapal legatetoPoland.

Early life

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Hosius was born inKraków,the son ofUlrich HosseofPforzheim.He spent his early youth at Kraków andVilnius,and at the age of fifteen, already well versed inGerman,Polish andLatin,he entered the University of Kraków from which he graduated as Bachelor of Arts in 1520.Piotr Tomicki,Bishop of Kraków and Vice-Chancellor of Poland, employed him as private secretary and entrusted to him the education of his nephews. Tomicki became his patron and underwrote his studies at theUniversity of Paduaand theUniversity of Bologna,Italy.At Padua,Reginald Polewas one of his fellow students. At Bologna, he pursued jurisprudence under Hugo Buoncompagni, the futureGregory XIII.[1]

Career

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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, BishopJan Chojeńskiof 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 theSee of Chełmnoin 1549. He had not sought that dignity and accepted it only with reluctance. Hosius was then sent by Sigismund on a diplomatic important mission to the courts of King Ferdinand I at Prague and Emperor Charles V at Brussels and Ghent. The mission resulted in an alliance between Poland and the other monarchies. Upon his return to Poland, he received episcopal consecration at Kraków on 23 March 1550, and he immediately took possession of his see.[1]Hosius hadJesuitsympathies and actively opposed theProtestant Reformation.[2]

Two years later, he becamePrince-Bishop of Warmiain Royal Prussia, Poland. Hosius drew up theConfessio fidei christiana catholica,adopted by the Synod of Piotrków in 1557.[2]He was a supremely-skillful diplomat and administrator. Hosius andMarcin Kromerwere the two bishops most instrumental in keeping theWarmiaregion Catholic, and neighbouringDucal Prussiabecame Protestant. In 1558Pope Paul IVsummoned him to Rome, and soon Hosius became an influential member of the Roman Curia.[3]

The following year,Pope Pius IVappointed Hosius as his personal nuncio toFerdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor,at the court inVienna,where he was to work on the reopening of theCouncil 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 Vconsecrated him as Papal Legate to Poland.

Death and legacy

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Besides carrying through many difficult negotiations, he founded the lyceum ofBraunsbergto counter the rapidly spreading Protestants. It became the centre of the Roman Catholic mission among Protestants.[2]In 1572,Pope Gregory XIIIdeclared Hosius a member of theCongregatio Germania.He died atCapranica Prenestina,nearRome,on 5 August 1579.

A special friend to Hosius was SaintPeter Canisius.Both Kromer and Hosius left many records of theirGermanspeeches and sermons in their years of duty in the Bishopric of Warmia. They were later translated toCzech,English,andFrench.

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

Cause of beatification

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

See also

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Secondary literature

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  • 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,Germany,2005ISBN3-7728-2258-4
  • 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,inActa Historica Res Gestas Poloniae illustrantia,tom. IV (ed. by F. Hipler and V. Zakrzewski) (Cracow, 1879), I-CXXIV.

Literature in English

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  • 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

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  1. ^abcOtt, Michael. "Stanislaus Hosius." The Catholic EncyclopediaVol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 29 June 2019Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  2. ^abcdChisholm 1911.
  3. ^abGrabka OFM Conv., Gregory. "Cardinal Hosius and the Council of Trent", St. Hyacinth Seminary
  4. ^Wojtyska, Cardinal Hosius Legate to the Council of Trent, 262-3.

Sources

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Catholic Church titles
Regnal titles
Preceded by Prince-Bishop of Warmia (Ermland)
1551–1579 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by Oldest living Member of the Sacred College
23 July 1577 - 5 August 1579 		Succeeded by
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