Stanisław Kubista

Blessed Stanislaw Kubista S.V.D.
Born	(1898-09-27)September 27, 1898 Kostuchna, Poland
Died	April 26, 1940(1940-04-26) (aged 41) Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	June 13, 1999, Poland by Pope John Paul II
Feast	June 12

Stanislaw Kubista (September 27, 1898 – April 26, 1940) was a Society of the Divine Word (SVD) martyr. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 13 June 1999 as one of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II.

Life

Stanisław Kubista was born on September 27, 1898 in Kostuchna near Mikołów in the present diocese of Katowice to Stanisław and Franciszka Czempska. He was the fifth child out of six sons and three daughters. Gertruda, the youngest daughter and his youngest sister (born in 1910) is still alive. Stanisław Kubista was a perplexed, but noted, man for his eagerness to learn and to serve. In 1917, he was sent to the French Front to serve as a radio and telegraph operator until 1919, when he was recalled in Poland.

In 1927, after years of gruelling training, and suffering to become a priest, he was ordained. During his schooling in the seminar, he was noted to be a good writer; especially in the Polish language. In 1928, he was appointed sub rector of Gorna Grupa (where later on, fellow martyr Aloysius Liguda would be the main rector). He later realized that life was everywhere, it was all around him. Until October 27, 1940, the priest wrote stage plays and publication, as well as procuring things needed for the community and for the people in the seminary.

On October 27, 1939, the house was captured and was made into an internment camp, which stranded the people until February 5, 1940. On April 9, 1940, Kubista and Ligura parted their ways when Ligura was taken to Dachau concentration camp and Kubista was taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. While en route, he caught cold which turned into pneumonia and he also suffered from what was called colitis. Still, he was brutally beaten and starved. On April 26, 1940, the officer in charge of the barracks entered Kubista's cell and said "You have nothing to live for!". The officer then stepped on his chest with one foot and put the other foot on his throat with enough force to break his collarbone. Stanisław Kubista then convulsed and died minutes later. He was buried in an unknown mass grave.