16 August - Etienne I, in Hungarian: Szent István király, born around 975, founds the kingdom of Hungary. Etienne's father, Géza, promotes by force the conversion to Christianity of his subjects.
Etienne was born under the name of Vajk. He was baptized by Bishop Adalbert of Prague, who stayed several times at the court of Géza between 983 and 994. On the initiative of his father, Stephen married Gisela, the daughter of the Duke of Bavaria Henry II in 996. On the death of his father around 997, Etienne organized an assembly of Hungarian lords in Esztergom where he was appointed Grand Prince. Etienne received the crown "with the favours and encouragement" of Emperor Otto III. His coronation is said to have taken place on 25 December 1000.
He creates an archbishopric with its seat in Esztergom shortly after his coronation in order to guarantee the independence of the Church. Etienne also created the diocese of Kalocsa in 1001 and invited foreign priests to evangelize his kingdom. The transformation of Hungary into a Christian state is one of Etienne's main objectives. Even though the conversion of Hungarians had already begun during his father's reign, it was Etienne who systematically forced his subjects to convert to Christianity. His legislative activity is thus closely linked to Christianity. His First Book of Laws, written in the early years of his reign, contains, for example, several provisions concerning the observance of the feasts of the saints and the confession of the dying. His other laws guaranteed property rights, protected widows and orphans and regulated the status of serfs.
Stephen died on August 15, 1038. The cult of Stephen emerges after the long period of anarchy that characterized the reign of his immediate successors. The steps of canonization, authorized by Pope Gregory VII, are undertaken by Ladislaus I. The cult of Stephen spreads beyond the borders of Hungary. At first, he is venerated mainly in Scheyern and Bamberg, in Bavaria, but his relics are also taken to Aachen, Cologne, Mont-Cassin and Namur. After the capture of Ottoman-occupied Buda in 1686, Pope Innocent XI extended his worship to the entire Catholic Church and declared 2 September as St. Stephen's Day. In 1969, the feast of Joachim was moved from August 16 to July 26 by Pope Paul VI, and since the day left free was the day after the anniversary of the king's death, the feast was moved there.
