Stanislaus Hosius - an eminent humanist

Stanislaus Hosius was born on 5.05.1504 in Kraków as the son of Ulrich Hose, a minter (manager of the royal mint), and Anna, to a bourgeois family who came to Poland from Pforzheim in Baden.

He spent his childhood in Vilnius. In 1519, he began his studies at the Kraków Academy, and was then a teacher to the children of magnates and nobles staying at the court of the Kraków bishops Jan Konarski (1486-1522) and Piotr Tomicki (1464-1535). These acquaintances allowed him to study abroad. Thanks to the support of Bishop Tomicki, he studied theology and law at the universities of Bologna and Padua between 1530 and 1534, earning a doctorate in both laws. One of his law teachers was Ugo Buoncompagni (1502-1585), later Pope Gregory XIII.

Hosius wrote and published poems of his own authorship, and quickly gained fame as a Catholic theologian-polemist and one of the leading leaders of the Polish and European Counter-Reformation. He was the author of many theological and polemical works and was known for his fierce opposition to the views of Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski and censorship of his works.

Stanislaus Hosius was secretary to Sigismund the Old and Sigismund Augustus, as well as to the popes. Considered an outstanding politician, he was the executor of many diplomatic missions, including to Emperor Charles V. He became a cardinal in 1561, and at the last session of the Council of Trent he acted as one of the five papal legates and presided over the proceedings. He founded the Polish church and the hospice of St Stanislaus in Rome in 1578. He died in the suburban village of Capranica on 5.08.1579 and was buried in one of his titular shrines.

Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome

Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius was titular bishop of several Roman churches: San Lorenzo in Panisperna, Santa Prisca, San Pietro in Vincoli and the most important of all, the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Situated in the Zatibirie, the church is one of the oldest early Christian basilicas in Rome. According to tradition, the first church on this site was founded by Pope Callistus in the 3rd century. The present church was built in the 12th century under the pontificate of Innocent II. Many of the fragments used in its construction were of ancient origin (such as the columns). In the following centuries, new elements were added to the decoration and furnishings of the church, among which stand out the mosaics in the chancel from the late 13th and early 14th centuries by Pietro Cavallini (c. 1250 - c. 1330), the wooden ceiling of 1617, designed by Domenichino (1581-1641), and the chapel of the Avila family, by Antonio Gherardi (1638-1702), in the spirit of the radical baroque by Francesco Borromini (1599-1667).

Cardinal's tombstone and cardinal's secretary

Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius, as Bishop of Warmia, had a trusted secretary, Tomasz Treter (1547-1610). He was an extremely interesting character - a canon of Warmia, royal secretary, poet, philologist, amateur artist, engraver and translator. Treter was also involved in heraldry. He spent 22 years in Rome as secretary to cardinals: Stanislaus Hosius and Andrew Batory (1563-1599). He was a canon at the Basilica of St John Lateran, and was also the first superior of the Polish Hospice in Rome.

From 1579 to 1593, Treter was canon at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome, which facilitated him in bringing Hosius' body from Capranica and requesting his burial in that very church. It is believed that it was Treter who designed the tombstone, the construction of which was completed around 1580. He is also the author of two depictions of Hosius' tombstone - a copperplate engraving of 1588 published in Rome and a manuscript design for this publication.

The tombstone is located in the chancel, to the right, is wall-mounted and consists of two parts. The lower is set on a double plinth and framed by pseudo-pillars, between which is a relief representation with learned books. Above, the main section, framed by a moulded frame, consists of a black marble plaque with an inscription and a bust of Hosius in an oval niche. The tombstone is surmounted by an interrupted triangular pediment with the coat of arms of the deceased on the axis. Above it, the personifications of Prudence and Knowledge, which were painted en grisaille (in various shades of grey) on the wall and commissioned by Treter in 1586, are painted.

Distinguished by its artistic class, the cardinal's bust has been attempted to be linked to several Roman sculptors, but without any source evidence. A psychological portrait and a successful attempt to portray physiognomic features are clearly visible here. The portrait is treated painterly and freely. The tombstone of Hosius is one of the most magnificent Roman polonics, and occupies an important place in the sepulchral art of the Eternal City taking shape after the Council of Trent. A distinctive feature is the strong accentuation of the portrait of the deceased in a circular niche against the austere architecture of the tombstone. The composition of a delicately carved still life with books at the base of the tombstone symbolises Hosius' intellectual qualities and emphasises his merits in this field. In addition to the tombstone, Cardinal Hosius was still commemorated with a plaque in his foundation, the Church of St Stanislaus in Rome.