Saint Casimir

Saint Casimir
Saint Casimir
Confessor
Born	October 3, 1458(1458-10-03) Wawel, Kraków, Kingdom of Poland
Died	March 4, 1484(1484-03-04) (aged 25) Hrodna, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Modern Belarus)
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church
Canonized	1522, Rome by Pope Adrian VI
Major shrine	Vilnius Cathedral
Feast	March 4
Patronage	Lithuania, Poland, youth

Saint Casimir Jagiellon (Polish: Kazimierz, Lithuanian: Kazimieras) (October 3, 1458 – March 4, 1484) was a royal prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who became a patron saint of Lithuania, Poland, and the young.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Ancestry 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Biography

A member of the Jagiellon dynasty, Casimir was born at Wawel, the royal palace in Kraków, and died at Hrodna.^[1] St. Casimir was the grandson of Jogaila and was the second son of king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV and Queen Elisabeth Habsburg of Hungary. His maternal grandfather was the king Albert Habsburg of Hungary, king of Bohemia and "King of the Romans" of the Holy Roman Empire.

From the age of nine, St. Casimir was educated by Jan Długosz and Filippo Buonaccorsi (also known as Filip Callimachus). Casimir, eager to defend Christianity against the Turks, accepted the offer and went to Hungary to obtain the crown. His uncle Władysław III, king of Poland and Hungary, had been killed earlier at the Battle of Varna in 1444 while leading the Hungarian armies against the Ottomans. Casimir was unsuccessful in this undertaking and returned as a fugitive. His father, King Casimir IV, had him educated well concerning public affairs and when his brother Władysław, became king of Bohemia, Casimir became crown prince and heir-apparent to the throne of Poland.

In 1471, while King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary led a campaign in Bohemia, the Hungarian nobility conspired against him and called the thirteen years old Casimir to the Kingdom, so he could take over and be crowned. The conspiracy was led by the Hungarian Archbishop János Vitéz, but it was frustrated as the King Matthias learned about it and quickly travelled back to the Kingdom with his armies in May of the same year. Casimir arrived to the fortress of Nitra, and then to Perény and Rozgony, but for December he had to fled from Hungary, as the King recovered full control and arrested the traitors.

Between 1479 and 1484 his father spent most of his time in Vilnius attending to the affairs of Lithuania, while Casimir acted as the vice-regent in Poland. Between 1481 and 1483, he administered the state with great prudence and justice. His father tried to arrange a marriage with a daughter of Emperor Frederick III, but Casimir preferred to remain single. Weakened by excessive fasting, he developed severe lung problems, possibly tuberculosis. On a journey to Lithuania in 1484, he died at Hrodna. His remains were interred in Vilnius. His remains rest in the baroque Saint Casimir's Chapel in the Vilnius Cathedral.

St. Casimir lived and reigned with great dignity and possessed great charm and character. Several miracles are ascribed to him. He was canonized by Pope Adrian VI in 1522 and is the patron saint of Lithuania. On June 11, 1948, Pope Pius XII named Saint Casimir the special patron of all youth.

The towns of Kvėdarna and Nemunaitis in Lithuania have Saint Casimir depicted on their Coat of Arms.

Ancestry

16. Gediminas of Lithuania

8. Algirdas, King of Lithuania

17. Jewna of Polotsk

4. Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland

18. Alexander I, Grand Prince of Tver

9. Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver

19. Anastasia Yuryevna of Halych

2. Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland

20. Ivan Olgimuntovich, Prince of Halshany

10. Andrew Ivanovich, Prince of Halshany

21. Agrippina Svyatoslavovna of Smolensk

5. Sophia of Halshany

22. Dimitri Semenovich of Drutsk

11. Alexandra Dimitrijewna of Drutsk

23. Anastasia Olegovna of Ryazan

1. Saint Casimir

24. Albert III, Duke of Austria

12. Albert IV, Duke of Austria

25. Beatrice of Hohenzollern-Nuremberg

6. Albert II of Germany

26. Albert I, Duke of Bavaria

13. Johanna Sophia of Bavaria

27. Margaret of Brieg

3. Elizabeth of Austria

28. Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

14. Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor

29. Elizabeth of Pomerania

7. Elisabeth of Bohemia

30. Hermann II of Celje

15. Barbara of Celje

31. Anna, Countess of Schaunberg

See also

• Kaziuko mugė in Vilnius, a fair held on the Sunday nearest to St. Casimir's Day, the anniversary of his death
• Saint Casimir's Day (his feast day, March 4)

References

External links

• Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Saint_Casimir Saint Casimir] at Wikimedia Commons

Persondata
Name	Casimir, Saint
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 3, 1458
Place of birth	Wawel, Kraków, Kingdom of Poland
Date of death	March 4, 1484
Place of death	Hrodna, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Modern Belarus)