Vaik's father was the third duke to govern the Magyars. When Vaik was 10, he and his father were baptized, and Vaik was christened Stephen. He married Gisela, sister of Henry of Bavaria who later became Holy Roman Emperor. In 997, when he was 22, Stephen succeeded his father and was soon at war in his attempt to unite the Magyars. When he had consolidated his position, Stephen obtained Pope Sylvester II's political support and approval for the proper establishment of the Church in Hungary. The pope actually sent a crown from Rome - the famous crown of Saint Stephen captured by the Americans during World War II and returned to Hungary in 1978 - and Stephen was crowned first King of Hungary in 1001.

Stephen saw to it that Magyars were trained as priests, churches were built, and the great monastery of St Martin, begun by his father, was finished. In his zeal, which often combined the sword and the cross, he instituted reforms in religion, civil law, and government. While this caused some opposition, Stephen was known for his accessibility to all and his concern for the poor, qualities which earned him valuable political support.

A deeply committed Christian, Stephen was very generous, often distributing alms in person and without bodyguards; on at least one occasion, this habit very nearly cost him his life. When his only son and heir died in a hunting accident, Stephen's life was made miserable by fights over the succession. He died in 1038, having united Hungary in politics and in religion, and was canonized in 1083.

©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.