St. Wenceslaus was raised by his grandmother, St. Ludmilla, who instilled in him a deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. However, after the death of his father, his mother, a pagan named Dragomir, became regent for the young Wenceslaus, leading to a violent reaction in which German missionaries were expelled, and St. Ludmilla was martyred by strangulation.
In 922, the people demanded that Wenceslaus be made regent instead of his mother. He obliged and recalled the German priests from their banishment. With great kindness of heart and courage, he worked tirelessly to improve the religious, moral, and cultural standards of his people. He was eventually granted the title of King of Bohemia by Emperor Otto I.
However, some of the nobles opposed Wenceslaus's policies, and his mother and brother, Boleslav, encouraged their rebellion. Boleslav, who had abandoned his religious beliefs and was known for his turbulent temperament, plotted to murder Wenceslaus after he had a son and became the king. Boleslav invited Wenceslaus to his hometown and then killed him at the church door of Alt Bunzlau, where Wenceslaus had gone to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Wenceslaus is now revered as the Patron Saint of Czechoslovakia.
St. Wenceslaus, we implore your intercession, that we may remain steadfast in our devotion to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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