Saint Stephen of Hungary, King & Confessor (1962 Roman Calendar)

Saint Stephen was born about the year 969, the son of a Magyar prince, and was baptised in his youth as the Christian faith began to take root among his people. On succeeding his father as ruler of the Hungarians, he set himself, with apostolic zeal, to lead his whole nation to Christ. He was crowned the first king of Hungary about the year 1000, receiving, according to the tradition, a crown sent with the blessing of the Apostolic See, and he ruled as a Christian prince who held his royal office as a trust from God for the good of his people and the spread of the faith.

The apostle of his people

King Stephen laboured untiringly to plant and establish the Church throughout his dominions. He founded bishoprics and monasteries, built churches, brought in clergy and religious to instruct his people, and provided for the worship of God and the care of souls across his realm. He framed just laws for the protection of religion and the good ordering of the kingdom, suppressed what was contrary to the faith, and bound his people to the observance of the Christian life. By these labours he earned the title of apostle of the Hungarians, for it was chiefly through him that the nation was brought, lastingly, into the fold of Christ.

With his zeal for the faith Saint Stephen joined a deep personal piety and a tender charity to the poor. The accounts of his life relate that he was given to prayer and humility, that he cared for the needy as a father, and that he bore with patience the heavy sorrows of his later years, among them the death of his son, Saint Emeric, whom he had hoped to leave as his successor. In all things he sought to rule not for himself but for God and for his people.

A holy king at his death

Saint Stephen died on the feast of the Assumption, the fifteenth of August, in the year 1038, after a reign of remarkable fruitfulness, and was later canonised. The tradition relates that, as he lay dying, he commended his realm and his people to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the Hungarian nation has ever since honoured as its patroness and queen.

His feast is kept in the universal calendar on the second of September. The collect of his feast beseeches almighty God that His Church, which had blessed Stephen as a propagator of the faith while he reigned on earth, may be worthy to have him as a glorious defender in heaven. In Saint Stephen the Church honours a king who used his crown and his power for the kingdom of God, and who gave to a whole nation the gift of the Christian faith.

The Collect

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, unto Thy Church, that she may be worthy to have as her glorious defender in heaven blessed Stephen Thy Confessor, whom, while he reigned on earth, she had as the propagator of the faith.

Concéde, quæsumus, Ecclésiæ tuæ, omnípotens Deus: ut beátum Stéphanum Confessórem tuum, quem regnántem in terris propagatórem hábuit, propugnatórem habére mereátur gloriósum in cœlis.

Patronage

He is venerated as the apostle and patron of Hungary and of the Hungarian people, and is honoured as a model of Christian rulers.

In the Modern Calendar

In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on 16 August, the day after the anniversary of his death on the Assumption.

Common Questions

When is the feast of Saint Stephen of Hungary?

In the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 2 September as a Third Class feast. In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on 16 August.

Who was Saint Stephen of Hungary?

He was the first Christian king of Hungary, born about 969 and crowned about the year 1000. With apostolic zeal he established the faith throughout his realm, founding bishoprics, monasteries, and churches, and is venerated as the apostle and patron of the Hungarian nation. He died in 1038.

Why is he called the apostle of Hungary?

Because it was chiefly through his labours that the Hungarian people were brought lastingly into the Christian faith. He founded the structures of the Church in his land, framed just laws to protect religion, and led his nation to Christ, and so is honoured as its apostle as well as its first king.

See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.

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