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"The legend says that Templars, under cover of darkness, sunk a wooden box with golden coins and the Holy Grail," Marek Karolczak, a local historian, told CNN Travel. The lake mentioned in the stories dried out long ago, "and the treasure has either been stolen or lost forever in the swamp," he added.Now, archaeologists are investigating one of the chapels the order built in western Poland upon its return from the Holy Land. The small village of Chwarszczany, in the region of West Pomeranian, is home to the chapel of St. Stanislaus, constructed from red bricks by the Templars as...

SAINT STANISLAUSBishop of Cracow, Martyr(1030-1079) Saint Stanislaus was born in answer to prayer, when his parents were advanced in age. Out of gratitude they educated him for the Church. When his parents died, he sold their vast properties and gave the price to the poor. He was ordained, and being a holy priest, soon afterwards became a Canon of the Cracow cathedral. It was necessary to have recourse to the Pope to have him accept the see of Cracow when it became vacant. But the bishop of Cracow’s virtues increased with his dignity and obligations; Saint Stanislaus donned a...

In a defiant challenge to Archbishop Raymond Burke’s authority as the leader of the St. Louis archdiocese, the board of directors of St. Stanislaus Kostka church have hired a Roman Catholic priest from the neighboring diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau to be its parish pastor. The Rev. Marek B. Bozek, associate pastor of St. Agnes Cathedral in Springfield and Polish native, will take over at St. Stanislaus without Burke’s consent. Bozek, 30, will celebrate his first Mass at the church on Christmas Eve. “I am deeply saddened by this action, which causes further damage to the the Church, not only here...

         Bishop and  Martyr St. Stanislaus of Cracow   (1030-1070)          Poland has given us two saints named Stanislaus. Of these, the better known is the young Jesuit saint, Stanislaus Kostka (1550-1586). But in Poland itself Bishop St. Stanislaus is a national hero. He headed the diocese of Cracow, a predecessor of Pope John Paul II.        The family name of Cracow's Stanislaus was Szczepanowski. His parents were devout members of the nobility. They had been childless, but God finally rewarded their prayers for a family by sending them Stanislaus. From his birth...

Mass shows support for dozens of gays, lesbians 'Let go of anger and hate,' pastor says BY STEVE SCOTT Pioneer Press Responding to requests by families and friends of gays and lesbians, the Rev. John Clay celebrated a Mass of healing and support Thursday night at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in St. Paul. Nearly 150 people at the church at West Seventh Street and Western Avenue heard Clay call for people to love "those who aren't like us." He implored them to "listen to what it feels like to grow up in a society in which the majority is hostile"...

Krakow Says No! by John Horvat II The city of Krakow would seem to be an unlikely place for a heated debate over homosexual “rights” and same-sex “marriage.” Poland’s cultural capital is situated in a conservative region in this overwhelmingly Catholic country. The city’s homosexual population is minute and insignificant. Indeed the issue has been largely ignored by Polish media. Resistance to the idea of same-sex “marriage” is strong and there is a tendency to be complacent in the belief that such an aberration would never enter the country. This climate, however, has recently changed. With Poland’s May 1 entry...