Right-Believing
Right-Believing Prince and Martyr Wenceslaus of Bohemia
ок. 907 — 935
Also known as: Вацлав Чешский
Right-Believing Prince Wenceslaus of Bohemia — grandson of St. Ludmila, builder of the first church in Prague, murdered by his own brother Boleslaus in 935; the first Czech saint and patron of the Czech nation.
Right-Believing Prince Wenceslaus was born around 907, grandson of St. Ludmila of Bohemia (already documented in our database, martyr_ludmila). Together with his spiritual mentor, the priest Paul, a disciple of St. Methodius, his grandmother instilled in him deep Christian piety and Slavic literacy from childhood.
He became Duke of Bohemia in 924/925. During his reign he built the Rotunda of St. Vitus in Prague, actively promoted the Christianization of the country, personally cared for the poor and imprisoned, and, tradition holds, abolished torture and softened capital punishment. His piety and political rapprochement with the German King Henry I provoked discontent among the pagan-leaning nobility led by his younger brother Boleslaus.
On the morning of September 28, 935, as Wenceslaus was going to church for the service, Boleslaus and his accomplices cut him down at the church doors. Popular veneration began almost immediately after his death; he became the first Czech saint and remains the patron of Bohemia and Czech statehood.
His feast is kept on September 28/October 11 (day of repose), and also March 4 (translation of relics to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague).