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Saint Casimir
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Saint Casimir

Polish prince who died young at Grodno and is honoured as a patron of Lithuania

Rank
Saint
Kind
Royalty, Young saint
Life
1458 – 1484
Era
15th century
Feast
4 March
Countries
Poland, Lithuania
PolandLithuania

Life story

Casimir was born on 3 October 1458 in Kraków, the second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon and Queen Elizabeth of Habsburg. With his brothers he was educated under the historian and cleric Jan Długosz. Early sources describe him as a simple, prayerful man with compassion for the poor, even though he grew up at court. His tutor Długosz was also one of the great chroniclers of medieval Poland, and left a detailed record of the royal family and its court.

In 1471 a group of Hungarian nobles, discontented with King Matthias Corvinus, invited Casimir, then only thirteen, to take the throne. He entered Hungary with an army, but the campaign failed for lack of support and supplies. Casimir returned, and tradition says he had no wish to continue the contest. After that he lived for a time at the castle of Dobki, then worked beside his father in Vilnius and Grodno, and at times was given responsibility to act for the king in Poland.

Casimir contracted a lung disease, most likely tuberculosis, and died on 4 March 1484 at Grodno, aged twenty-five. He was buried in Vilnius cathedral, where a chapel was later built for him. Soon after, favours were reported at his tomb and his veneration spread. He was canonised in the early 1520s (the process is usually dated 1521–22). Today he is honoured as patron of Lithuania and one of the patrons of Poland. His feast is kept on 4 March, and the annual fair held in his honour in Vilnius, known as Kaziukas, has become a well-loved tradition in Lithuania.

Works and witness

  • Born in 1458 in Kraków, son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon
  • Educated under Jan Długosz
  • Led an army into Hungary in 1471; the campaign failed
  • Died 4 March 1484 at Grodno; buried in Vilnius
  • Canonised in the early 1520s

Patron of

Lithuania, Poland

Saints from the same country

Saint Stanislaus of Kraków, Saint John Paul II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Faustina Kowalska

References

  • Martyrologium Romanum
  • Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
  • Jan Długosz, Annales seu Cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.