"The thought of joining the Society of Jesus had already entered the mind of the saintly young man.
It was six months, however, before he ventured to speak of this to the superiors of the Society.
At Vienna they hesitated to receive him, fearing the tempest that would probably be raised by his father against the Society, which had just quieted a storm unleashed by other admissions to the Company.
Stanislaus quickly grasped the situation and formed the plan of applying to the general of the Society at Rome.
The distance was five hundred leagues, which had to be made on foot, without equipment or guide or any other resources but the precarious charity that might be received on the road.
The prospective dangers and humiliations of such a journey, however, did not alarm his courage.

On the morning of the day on which he was to carry out his project he called his servant to him early and told him to notify his brother Paul and his tutor in the course of the morning that he would not be back that day to dinner.
Then he started, exchanging the dress of gentleman for that of a mendicant, which was the only way to escape the curiosity of those he met.
By nightfall Paul and the tutor comprehended that Stanislaus had fled, as he had threatened.
They were seized with a fierce anger, and as the day was ended the fugitive had gained a day over them.
They started to follow him, but were not able to overtake him; either their exhausted horses refused to go further, or a wheel of their carriage would break, or, as the tutor frankly declared, they had mistaken the route, having left the city by a different road from the one which Stanislaus had taken.
It is noticeable that in his testimony Paul gives no explanation of his ill-luck.

Stanislaus stayed for a month at Dillingen, where the provincial of that time, Saint Peter Canisius, put the young aspirant's vocation to the test by employing him in the boarding-school.
He arrived 25 October 1567 in Rome.
As he was greatly exhausted by the journey, the general of the order, Saint Francis Borgia, would not permit him to enter the novitiate of Saint Andrew until several days later.
During the ten remaining months of his life, according to the testimony of the master of novices, Father Giulio Fazio, "he was a model and mirror of religious perfection.
Notwithstanding his very delicate constitution he did not spare himself the slightest penance".
He had such a burning fever in his chest that he was often obliged to apply cold compresses."
"The thought of joining the Society of Jesus had already entered the mind of the saintly young man. It was six months, however, before he ventured to speak of this to the superiors of the Society. At Vienna they hesitated to receive him, fearing the tempest that would probably be raised by his father against the Society, which had just quieted a storm unleashed by other admissions to the Company. Stanislaus quickly grasped the situation and formed the plan of applying to the general of the Society at Rome. The distance was five hundred leagues, which had to be made on foot, without equipment or guide or any other resources but the precarious charity that might be received on the road. The prospective dangers and humiliations of such a journey, however, did not alarm his courage.
On the morning of the day on which he was to carry out his project he called his servant to him early and told him to notify his brother Paul and his tutor in the course of the morning that he would not be back that day to dinner. Then he started, exchanging the dress of gentleman for that of a mendicant, which was the only way to escape the curiosity of those he met. By nightfall Paul and the tutor comprehended that Stanislaus had fled, as he had threatened. They were seized with a fierce anger, and as the day was ended the fugitive had gained a day over them. They started to follow him, but were not able to overtake him; either their exhausted horses refused to go further, or a wheel of their carriage would break, or, as the tutor frankly declared, they had mistaken the route, having left the city by a different road from the one which Stanislaus had taken. It is noticeable that in his testimony Paul gives no explanation of his ill-luck.
Stanislaus stayed for a month at Dillingen, where the provincial of that time, Saint Peter Canisius, put the young aspirant's vocation to the test by employing him in the boarding-school. He arrived 25 October 1567 in Rome. As he was greatly exhausted by the journey, the general of the order, Saint Francis Borgia, would not permit him to enter the novitiate of Saint Andrew until several days later. During the ten remaining months of his life, according to the testimony of the master of novices, Father Giulio Fazio, "he was a model and mirror of religious perfection. Notwithstanding his very delicate constitution he did not spare himself the slightest penance". He had such a burning fever in his chest that he was often obliged to apply cold compresses."
Stanislaus Kostka