Poland is truly a land of saints. In its 1,030-year Christian history, it has produced 73 saints. The first was Adalbert, bishop of Prague, who was martyred in 997 while preaching Christianity to the pagan Prussians living in the Baltic Sea area. He was sent there by King Boleslaw of Poland who, when he learned of Adalbert's death, sent emissaries to retrieve the body so it could be given a Christian burial. The Prussians, however, demanded a ransom of silver equal in weight to that of Adalbert's body. A makeshift balance was erected with the body on one side and a pile of silver peices on the other.

One by one, the pieces of silver were removed to achieve balance. To everyone's amazement, the scale did not level off until all but one small piece of silver weighing about an ounce remained. This "miracle" frightened the Prussians and so impressed the Poles that Adalbert was later canonized.

To this day, many Poles pray for Saint Adalbert's guidance when they have money problems.

Historical Notes . . .
Adalbert was Bohemian. His Polish name was Wojciech and his feast day is April 23.

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Credits: Searchers Newletter, No. 16 Winter 1996