St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia and Martyr (907-938 AD)
EARLY LIFE
St. Wenceslaus was the grandson of the first Christian duke of Bohemia and his wife, the Blessed Ludmilla. His father was a valiant and good prince, but his mother, Drahomira, was a pagan with depraved morals and heretical notions. Ludmilla who lived in Prague was able to persuade her son to allow her to educate Wenceslaus, but not so with his younger brother, Boleslas. Along with help from his grandmother Ludmilla and excellent teachers, including a very pious and holy priest named Fr. Paul, Wenceslaus received an excellent intellectual and moral education. Even at a young age he seemed destined for sanctity.
DIVISION OF THE DUCHY
He was still quite young when his father died and his mother seized control of the government as acting regent. Drahomira then let loose her full hatred against Christianity and began a national persecution. Churches were shut down, priests were banished or killed, training for any kind of religious life was prohibited, religious services were banned, and Christian education was outlawed. All Christian officials were replaced by heathens who supported Drahomira’s tyranny and countless Christians were massacred. Ludmilla did her best to save the Christian work her husband and son had done, for it had been no small effort to bring this land out of dark paganism and into the glorious light of Christ. She advised Wenceslaus well and together they were able to effectively curb Drahomira’s atrocities and grab for power. It was chiefly on account of Wenceslaus’ great virtues, high morals and authentic kindness, that much of the local populace supported him. In order to avoid greater bloodshed, it was agreed by the royal family to split the nation in two with Wenceslaus ruling in the west and his brother, Boleslas, in the east.
The draconian Drahomira used all her wiles to utterly corrupt her younger son, perverting him into an execrable idolatry, hatred of the Christian religion, boundless ambition and an implacable cruelty. These two never ceased to raise all the furies of hell against Wenceslaus.
EUCHARISTIC PIETY
The saintly ruler however spent all his efforts in establishing religion, the worship of the True God, justice and peace in his dominions. After a day filled with acts of piety and the affairs of state, many a night would he spend in vigil praying. At heart, he was quite simple and humble. Thus he would insist upon taking a much needed respite from his official duties in order to join the farmers in the field. Specifically he would gather the grapes with his own hands that would be used to make the wine for Holy Mass (such was his great piety). He would also rise at night to make visits to the Blessed Sacrament, even during the coldest of seasons. His piety towards the Holy Eucharist was so renowned that even St. Alphonsus Liguori makes mention of it in one of his works.
MARTYRDOM OF HIS GRANDMOTHER
Drahomira knew full well that Ludmilla was first great bastion of strength, purity, and virtue in her son's kingdom. Thus she laid a plot to assassinate her. Ludmilla discovered the murderous intentions directed against her by her own daughter and prepared herself well in case death would catch her unexpectedly. She distributed her wealth to the poor and her servants, she confirmed the duke in his good resolutions, she forgave her would be murderers, and she made her confession and received the holy sacraments from the holy Fr. Paul. It was by the grace of God that Ludmilla had heard of the assassination rumors just in time. For that very night, after having received the sacraments, her assassins made their move. They stealthily crept into her castle and found her prostrate in prayer before the altar. They seized her and strangled her with her own veil, directly before the Altar of God. She is honored as a martyr in Bohemia on September 16. While Wenceslaus forgave this brutal actor, those who hated him began to plot against him.
FROM DUKE TO KING
Duke Wenceslaus was also beset by solemn obligations in the west. The Holy Roman Emperor, Otho I, had assembled a great diet at Worms and summoned him. St. Wenceslaus arrived late, as he had stopped along the road to hear High Mass. While many princes were indignant, the good emperor recognized the duke's sanctity and promised him whatever he wished. Wenceslaus requested a relic (an arm) of St. Vitus and a relic of St. Sigismund. This the Emperor gladly conferred along with many favors , including the exemption of imperial taxes, and the title of King. Wenceslas however graciously thanked the Emperor and excused himself from this great title, as being unworthy. (What humility!) Nevertheless in all subsequent correspondence the Emperor and all the other royal dignitaries of the empire addressed him as King Wenceslaus. The saint built a great church in Prague and deposited the relics of St. Vitus there. To this day, this is the most notable and most magnificent structure in that ancient European capital and stands as a great witness to the heroic faith of the land.
MARTYRDOM BY HIS OWN BROTHER
Because King Wenceslaus destroyed all oppression with great zeal, a number of the nobility grew resentful of him and began to support Boleslas and Drahomira. Yet Wenceslaus forgave his brother and mother for assassinating his grandmother and promised to heal the division in the kingdom. Thus he took a vow of virginity so that he would have no heir. Boleslas however had a son, thus ensuring the entirety of the kingdom would pass back to him. Drahomira then invited Wenceslaus to their palace to celebrate the birth of his nephew. Thinking the division had been healed on account of his vow of virginity, and without the least suspicion of treachery, Wenceslaus accepted the invitation. But Boleslas was full of hatred, envy and ambition. His pride and impatience would not allow him to peacefully wait for a united kingdom. Instead, like Judas of old, he received his brother with all kindness, only to better hide his hellish designs. The festival was splendid with nothing lacking. At midnight, Wenceslaus excused himself in order to offer his customary prayers in church. Boleslas and his mercenaries crept upon Wenceslaus from behind and attacked him. Once the King was already severely wounded, Boleslas standing before the altar of God ran his brother through with a lance. The great duke died on September 28, 938 AD. His dying words had been: “Brother, may God forgive you.”
AFTERMATH
Soon after this terrible crime, Drahomira perished from a most terrible disease. The Emperor Otho, who was righteously angry over this great injustice, marched on Bohemia and vanquished Boleslas. Yet the only tribute he exacted was that all the laws against Christianity be rescinded and the banished priests be allowed to return. Countless miracles were wrought by the relics of St. Wenceslaus, that even his evil brother grew fearful and repented to some extent. Boleslas honored his deceased brother by transferring his remains to the Cathedral of St. Vitus and there they remain to this day.
Boleslas II succeed his father as king, yet he imitated his uncle and became one of the greatest Christian princes of his age. Surely this was on account of the many merits won for him by the royal patron of his country.
VENERATION AND TRADITIONS
St. Wenceslaus is recognized as one of the most beloved royal saints, especially throughout northern Europe. Even Christmas hymns have been sung in tribute to him and an excellent version of a song in his honor can be heard here: