Originally named Wojtech, the boy who would become St. Adalbert was born into a noble family in the Central European province of Bohemia in the mid-900s. When Wojtech was a young boy and fell dangerously ill, his parents decided that if God answered their prayers and he lived, they would present their son to Him as a priest.

After Wojtech recovered from the sickness, his parents enrolled him in classes led by Benedictine missionary Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg, who was eventually canonized. During Wojtech's confirmation, the archbishop granted him his own name, a model that the boy would take up as a bishop, missionary, and monk.

In 981, at the age of 25, Adalbert lost his master. Two years later, he went back to his home in Bohemia, where he was ordained as a priest by Bishop Deitmar of Prague.

However, the conclusion of Bishop Deitmar's life offered the young priest a warning lesson that he would remember till the end of his life. The bishop admitted during his last illness that he had disregarded his spiritual obligations in favor of riches, honors, and pleasure because he was afraid of his approaching judgment.

Adalbert instantly decided to lead a more repentant life after witnessing his bishop pass away on the edge of despair. He started giving his money to the underprivileged while wearing a hair shirt.

Only a few months after becoming a priest, Adalbert was installed as the Bishop of Prague. The bishop worked to reorganize his diocese's finances, ensuring that his personal costs accounted for only a small fraction of the budget. In the meanwhile, he visited jails and impoverished areas, fasted frequently, preached sermons every day, and slept on the floor.

Despite six years of nonstop prayer, fasting, and preaching, Bishop Adalbert failed to make any progress with the Bohemians. The low point was when he tried in vain to protect a woman who had been found guilty of adultery from a mob that wanted to kill her. In response, he excommunicated the killers, but it appeared that the people supported them over the bishop.

Dejected and frustrated, Adalbert traveled to Rome in 989 to request Pope John XV's approval to leave his diocese. He entered a Roman monastery and deliberately took up the upkeep and work that the other monks despised.

The Archbishop of Mentz, who had consecrated Adalbert as a bishop, requested that the Pope return him to the Prague diocese five years after Adalbert's departure. Pope John complied, but he made it known that Adalbert may depart if the people in his diocese persisted in opposing him.

The people of Prague greeted their former bishop with great affection and committed to amending their ways when he returned. Unfortunately, this assurance turned out to be untrue, and Adalbert began to worry that the disobedient locals would push him to the brink of despair. He left as the Pope had instructed and went on to serve as a missionary among the Hungarian people.

Adalbert imparted knowledge to a large number of people throughout his missions in Hungary. He thereafter took up the position of prior at the Roman monastery of St. Boniface. Adalbert's consecrator, however, persisted in wanting him to go back to Prague once more.

At last, Pope Gregory V gave Adalbert the go-ahead to return to his position as Prague's bishop. But this time, the people openly disobeyed him. To demonstrate how unwelcome Adalbert would be, a bohemian prince by the name of Boleslaus even went so far as to murder several Adalbert's relatives and set their houses on fire.

Adalbert nevertheless made an effort to follow the Pope's instructions and wrote to inquire if the other Prague citizens would permit him to return. He was told not to return and that doing so would put him in danger in the response he received.

Adalbert chose to set out on a mission to the pagans in Poland and northeastern Germany after being sent away by his own people. Although he was able to win over a large number of them, he eventually faced the same animosity that had forced him out of his diocese.

Eventually, Adalbert and his two friends were taken prisoner by a pagan priest, who bound them and held them captive while they slept. Adalbert prayed out loud, pleading with God for pardon for his assailants and giving his own life as a sacrifice. The pagan priest used a lance to stab Adalbert in the chest. After being stabbed by six more people, he passed away on April 23, 997, from his wounds.

A Polish prince reclaimed St. Adalbert's body from the pagans, exchanging his remains for their weight in gold. His relics have been housed in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Adalbert in the Polish city of Gniezno.

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