Stanisław Kostka Starowieyski

Stanisław Kostka Starowieyski (1895-1941) was a reserve artillery captain of the Polish Armed Forces, who took part in the Polish-Ukrainian and Polish-Soviet Wars from 1918 to 1920), a church, social and charitable activist and a papal chamberlain. He died in Dachau concentration camp, and was beatified in 1999.

Youth
Stanisław Kostka Maria Gerard Franciszek de Hieronymo Biberstein Starowieyski was born on May 11, 1895, in Ustrobna, as the third child of Stanisław Jan and Amelia née Łubieńska. His father was a member of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria, the Imperial Council, the Legislative Sejm (1919–1922) and owned estates in Bratkówka and Korabniki. The family was of noble origin, related to the Bibersteins. He spent his early childhood in the domestic estate of Bratkówka. The Starowieyskis were strongly attached to the Catholic Church and led many social activities in the Catholic community, following reforms launched at the time by Pope Pius X. Like his other siblings, he got his first education by tutors at home in Krosno. Later, residing in Bratkówka, Stanisław studied in Sanok at the "C.K. Gimnazjum" ("Imperial and Royal Gymnasium"), today's Primary School No. 8 Sophia of Halshany, where he completed grades 1 to 3 from 1905 to 1908.

In 1910, he moved to the Jesuit College in Khyriv, where in 1914 he finished the 8th grade and passed his final exam. In this institution he joined the Roman Catholic society Sodality of Our Lady.

After graduating high school, Starowieyski began studying law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I.

On September 15, 1914, Starowieyski was mobilized into the Austro-Hungarian Army and sent to the officer school. Graduating on June 28, 1915, he moved to a field artillery regiment on the Eastern Front in Russia, where he took part in the battles for Lwów and Przemyśl. On March 3, 1918, he was transferred to the Italian front, where he fought in the Battle of the Piave River.

Interwar period
Stanisław returned to a reborn Poland on November 1, 1918, and joined the Army. As a second lieutenant, he participated in the Polish Army build-up in Kraków. He took part in the Polish-Ukrainian War as a battery commander: he fought near Przemyśl and at the Lwów Citadel during the defense of the city.

In June 1919, Starowieyski contributed to the formation of the 9th Light Artillery Regiment in Rembertów. As a lieutenant in this unit he took part in the Polish-Soviet War, the Kiev offensive (1920) and the Battle of Warsaw (1920) from December 1919 to August 1920. For his acts on the battlefield during the Kiev offensive he was awarded the Cross of Valor and the Silver Cross of the War Order of Virtuti Militari, conferred by General Władysław Sikorski.

In the aftermath of the fights, Starowieyski became seriously ill with dysentery and barely survived after a long stay in a military hospital in Zambrów, suffering from traces of the disease for the rest of his life, with blood clots in his legs. He was promoted to the rank of captain. In July 1921, he was demobilized and transferred to the reserve; he was confirmed in the rank of captain of the artillery reserve with seniority on June 1, 1919. In 1923 and 1924, he served during reserve duty periods as an officer of the 9th Field Artillery Regiment in Biała Podlaska. On August 24, 1921, Stanisław married in Łabunie Maria Szeptycka (1894–1976), blessed by his godfather, Father Franciszek Starowieyski. The young couple set up in the estate of Łaszczów, which was owned by Aleksander Szeptycki, Maria's father. The family manor had been completely devastated by the conflicts and they had to live initially in a modest outbuilding. Maria and Stanisław had six children. Although both of them came from wealthy families, they did not intend to rebuild the burnt residence, recognizing that in the face of widespread poverty, the funds should be invested so that they serve the family and the indigent. As the family grew, this outbuilding was gradually transformed into a residential building.

He did not resumed law studies, but completed an agricultural course. At that time, the couple was giving to charity and was very active locally: Starowieyski was especially active within the Akcja Katolicka group; from 1932 he was the vice-president, then from 1935 president of the Diocesan Institute of the Lublin branch. In this position, he wrote numerous papers, participated in ceremonies, retreats, conventions, courses and pilgrimages. In 1937, he took part in the International Congress in honor of "Christ the King" (Międzynarodowy Kongres Chrystusa-Króla) in Poznań. On his way back to Łaszczów, he stopped at Niepokalanów, where he met Father Maksymilian Kolbe. In recognition of his dynamism and activism within the Catholic Church, Pope Pius XI awarded him the title of Papal Chamberlain in 1934.
 * supporting financially the education of lay Catholics;
 * organizing and hosting retreats;
 * establishing a "Neighborhood Advice Circle" (Koło Porad Sąsiedzkich), a theater hall for stage amateurs;
 * organizing a local branch of the Klub Inteligencji Katolickiej and their conventions. In September 1934, he co-organized the diocesan Eucharistic Congress in Chełm.

Second World War
At the outbreak of the Second World War his house was a refuge for refugees of the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. After the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939, Red Army troops moved into the Lublin region: the Starowieyski's manor was plundered by the soviet soldiers and Stanisław and his brother Marian were arrested and imprisoned. They escaped during a transport en route to Tomaszów Lubelski. While the Soviet troops retreated behind the Bug river, Starowieyski returned to his estate at the end of September 1939.

During the German occupation, he kept giving to charity and supported the Diocesan Curia in Lublin. On June 19, 1940, he was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned in the Rotunda Zamość, then in the Lublin Castle, which was used as a prison.

He was moved afterwards to the Nazi concentration camp of Sachsenhausen, where he received the number 25711 and was placed in block 49. In September 1940, Stanisław was transported to the Dachau concentration camp and quartered in block 23 as prisoner 16532.

In Dachau, he still carried out apostolic activities among his fellow-prisoners. However, as a representative of the Polish landed gentry and a Catholic activist, Starowieyski was more severely persecuted and beaten by the camp officers. His health rapidly deteriorated, his legs swelling and prone to bleeding from varicose veins.

He died on 13 April 13, 1941, Easter Sunday.

His ashes were returned in an urn to his family by the camp authorities. They were buried at the Szeptycki family cemetery in the manor of Łabunie, today owned by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

Pope John Paul II beatified Stanisław Kostka Starowieyski on June 13, 1999 during a mass in Warsaw, as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II.

Decorations

 * Knight's Cross of the Virtuti Militari POL Virtuti Militari Kawalerski BAR.svg
 * Star of Przemyśl POL Brązowy Medal za Zasługi dla Obronności Kraju BAR.svg
 * "Orlęta" Commemorative badge POL Odznaka Honorowa Orląt.svg
 * Cross of Valour POL Krzyż Walecznych (1920) BAR.svg

Commemorations

 * On the 70th anniversary of his death, Stanisław Starowieyski was made the patron of the "Catholic Action" movement in Poland.
 * The patronage of his name was granted to the following educational institutions:
 * the "Primary School in Bratkówka" (Szkoła Podstawowa w Bratkówce);
 * the "Secondary School in Łaszczów" (Liceum Ogólnokształcące w Łaszczowie);
 * "Zamojska Szkoła Ewangelizacji" (Zamość School of Evangelization).
 * A commemorative plaque recalling his memory was unveiled in Bratkówka, on the Starowieyski's manor house, on October 17, 2002.
 * Since June 18, 2017, the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Łaszczów has been housing Blessed Stanisław's indirect relic: his holy rosary which was kept by his wife after he was arrested and deported. The rosary moved eventually into the hands of his grandson Wojciech Starowieyski, who donated it to the church in Łaszczów with the consent of Marian Rojek, the bishop of the Diocese of Zamość-Lubaczów.

Ancestors

 * Stanisław's grandfather was Stanisław Michał Starowieyski (1815-1895), a landowner, member of the Imperial Council and of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria.
 * Stanisław's father was Stanisław Jan Starowieyski (1866-1926).
 * Stanisław's father-in-law was Aleksander Maria Szeptycki (1866-1940), a landowner and brother of Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky, general Stanisław Szeptycki, Andrey Sheptytsky (Metropolitan bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) and Leon, a landowner. Aleksander Maria Szeptycki was tortured to death by the Gestapo on June 19, 1940 in the Rotunda Zamość.

Stanisław's siblings

 * Zofia Starowieyska-Morstinowa (1891–1966), a Polish essayist and literature critic. Five days after she died (July 8, 1966), a mass was said in her intention, celebrated by Archbishop Karol Wojtyła.
 * Ludwik (1894-1958), a year older than Stanisław. They went to the same school in 1905-1908. Ludwik married Maria Idalia Dembińska. He was a reserve second lieutenant in the cavalry of the Polish Army.
 * Maria (1896-1951), who worked in a school for nurses.
 * Marian (1899-1950s), a doctor of law.
 * Iza (1902-1927), a law graduate who worked at the "Państwowy Bank Rolny" (State Agricultural Bank).

Close family
His wife Maria Szeptycka (1894–1976) was the great-granddaughter of Polish poet and author Aleksander Fredro. The couple had six children:
 * Ignacy (1922-1994);
 * Aleksander (1923–1944), who died during the Warsaw Uprising (nom-de-guerre Oleś);
 * Maria (1925-1970), who participated in the Warsaw Uprising (nom-de-guerre Mysłowska);
 * Stanisław (1927-1959) who participated in the Warsaw Uprising (nom-de-guerre Rak);
 * Elżbieta (born 1929-1930);
 * Andrzej (1931-2013) who participated in the Warsaw Uprising.

Other family members

 * Nephews
 * Marek Starowieyski (born 1937), a Polish Catholic priest, prelate. Professor in theology, he wrote many publications on ancient Christianity and patrology.
 * Franciszek Starowieyski (1930-2009), a Polish graphic designer.
 * Grandchild
 * Małgorzata Starowieyska (1953-2006), aka Mao Star, was a Polish painter, performer, stage designer and choreographer.

Palace in Łabunie – Count Aleksander Szeptycki
The palace was erected as a summer residence for Jan Jakub Zamoyski, the voivode of Podolia who married Ludwika Maria Poniatowska, the sister of the King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski.

After several change of owners Jan Stanisław Tarnowski in the late 19th century sold this property near Zamość to Count Aleksander Maria Szeptycki, Stanisław Starowieyski's future father-in-law. The Szeptycki family lived there till the early 1920s.

In 1922, Aleksander Szeptycki bequeathed the palace complex with the 25 ha park and outbuildings to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM), who had been running an orphanage there with his approval. The Count's decision was a gift to the congregation in gratitude for taking care of his sick daughter Maria, who suffered from tuberculosis and died in 1917 in Łabunie. On June 26, 1922, three FMM sisters moved from Odessa, escaping the Russian Civil War. Zofia Maria Bronisława Szeptycki (1904 in Lviv - 1958 in Warsaw), one of the Count's nieces, became the superior of the Polish Province of the FMM.

The palace suffered heavily during WWII: 85% of the buildings were destroyed. After a partial reconstruction, FMM sisters moved back to Łabunie in 1963.

In September 2019, the FMM congregation opened a memorial area in honor of "Blessed" Stanisław Starowieyski in the palace Izba Pamięci. A modest necropolis of the Szeptycki family (including Stanisław Starowieyski's ashes) has been established in a circle around a wooden cross, on the outskirts of the park. Surrounding the palace are graves of the FMM sisters.