SAINT OF THE DAY, ST CASMIR OF POLAND

4 March
Optional Memorial of Saint CasimirSaint Casimir of PolandAlso known as

• Casimir of Cracow
• Kazimieras, Kazimierz, Kazimir

Profile

Fifteenth century Polish prince, the younger son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Elizabeth of Austria. Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1471; third in line for the throne. Lived a highly disciplined, even severe life, sleeping on the ground, spending a great part of the night in prayer, dedicating himself to lifelong celibacy. He had a great devotion to Mary, supported the poor, and lived a virtuous life amid the dissolute court.

Hungarian nobles prevailed upon Casimir's father to send his 15-year-old son to be their king; Casimir obeyed, taking the crown, but refusing to exercise power. His army was outnumbered, his troops deserting because they were not paid. Casimir returned home, and was a conscientious objector from that time on.

He returned to prayer and study, maintained his decision to remain celibate even under pressure to marry the emperor's daughter. Reigned briefly as king during his father's absence.

Born

3 October 1458 in Wawel, Kraków, Poland

Died

• 4 March 1484 at Grondo, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (in modern Belarus) of tuberculosis
• buried in cathedral of Vilnius, Lithuania

Canonized

• 1522 by Pope Adrian VI
• 1602 by Pope Clement VIII

Patronage

• against plague
• bachelors
• kings
• princes
• single laymen
• Lithuania (proclaimed by Pope Urban VIII in 1636
• Poland
• Grodno, Belarus, diocese of

Representation

• crown
• lily

Storefront

medals and pendants

Readings

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Casimir burned with a sincere and unpretentious love for almighty God. So rich was his love and so abundantly did it fill his heart, that it flowed out from his inner spirit toward his fellow men. As a result, nothing was more pleasant, nothing more desirable for him, than to share his belongings, and even to dedicate and give his entire self to Christ's poor, to strangers, to the sick, to those in captivity, and to all who suffer. To widows, orphans, and the afflicted, he was not only a guardian and patron but a father, son, and brother.

He actively took up the cause of the needy and unfortunate and embraced it as his own; for this reason the people called him the patron of the poor. Though the son of a king and descendant of a noble line, he was never haughty in his conversation or dealings with anyone, no matter how humble or obscure.

He always preferred to be counted among the meek and poor of spirit, among those who are promised the kingdom of heaven, rather than among the famous and powerful men of this world. - from a biography of Saint Casimir written by a contemporary