By Leon Bent –
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen, was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians, the first King of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The unique feature about St. Stephen is that, he was canonized by Pope Gregory VII, together with his son, Emeric, and Bishop Gerard of Csanád, in 1083. Stephen is a popular saint in Hungary and the neighbouring territories. In Hungary, his feast day celebrated on 20th August, is also a public holiday commemorating the foundation of the state.
The Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of King Saint Stephen of Hungary on August 16; the monarch who led his country to embrace the Christian faith during the 11th century.
Before the future saint’s birth in 975, his mother, the Duchess Sarolt, is said to have received a vision in which the original Saint Stephen – the Church’s first martyr – appeared to her prophesying, she would bear a son who would evangelize their land.
Together with her husband, the Hungarian Duke Geza, Sarolt is believed to have been converted and baptized by the bishop, Saint Adalbert of Prague. The same saint baptized their son Vaik in 985, giving him the name Stephen.
Geza had desired to convert the Hungarians to the Catholic faith, a passion shared by Stephen once he reached adulthood and succeeded him in power. After conclusively defeating an alliance of rival pagan nobility, he used their acquired wealth to build a monastery, and invited the clergy to convert the people.
Stephen established laws favouring Christianity over paganism, and sent an emissary to Rome with a request for the Pope to proclaim him as king. Pope Sylvester II accepted the request, sending him a crown and a gold processional cross, while also giving Stephen certain religious privileges.
He showed great diligence as king, while devoting the rest of his time to his religious duties – including charity toward the poor and sick, as well as the worship of God – and to his household.
The Hungarian king also established a monastery in Jerusalem, and set up institutions to aid pilgrims in other major cities. Stephen counted saints among his friends and correspondents, and fulfilled the Pope’s charge to use his royal authority for the good of the Church.
During the 14th century, royal power came to be represented not simply by a crown, but by just one specific object: the Holy Crown. This also meant that the Kingdom of Hungary was a special state: The Hungarians were not looking for a crown to inaugurate a king, but rather, they were looking for a king for the crown; as written by Crown Guard Péter Révay. He also depicts that “the Holy Crown is for the Hungarians what the Lost Ark is for the Jewish people”.
Stephen established at least one archbishopric, six bishoprics and three Benedictine monasteries; thus the Church in Hungary developed independently of the archbishops of the Holy Roman Empire. He encouraged the spread of Christianity with severe punishments for ignoring Christian customs. The transformation of Hungary into a Christian state was one of Stephen’s principal concerns throughout his reign.
In 1038, on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Stephen delivered his final words to leaders of the Church and state, telling them to protect and spread the Catholic faith. The Saint had a great devotion to the Virgin Mary. Stephen had several churches built in her honour, both, in Hungary and outside the kingdom. Her intercession is credited with preventing a war between Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire under Conrad II, and stopping an assassination plot against Stephen himself.
To the Virgin Mary, the king directed one of his final prayers: “To thee, O Queen of heaven, and to thy guardianship, I commend the holy Church, all the bishops and the clergy, the whole kingdom, its rulers and inhabitants; but before all, I commend my soul to thy care.”
St. Stephen of Hungary died on Aug. 15, 1038. He was buried alongside his son, St. Emeric, and the two were canonized together, in 1083.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.