Saint Casimir

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the village in Canada, see Saint-Casimir, Quebec.

Roman Catholic Church
Canonized1521 or 1602, Rome, Papal States, by Pope Leo X or Pope Clement VIII
Major shrine
Feast4 March[1]
AttributesLily, grand ducal cap
PatronageLithuania (1636), Lithuanian youth (1948)

Casimir Jagiellon (

King of Bohemia in 1471, Casimir became the heir apparent. At the age of 13, Casimir participated in the failed military campaign to install him as King of Hungary. He became known for his piety, devotion to God, and generosity towards the sick and poor. He became ill (most likely with tuberculosis) and died at the age of 25. He was buried in Vilnius Cathedral. His canonization was initiated by his brother King Sigismund I the Old
in 1514 and the tradition holds that he was canonized in 1521.

Veneration of Casimir saw a resurgence in the 17th century when his feast day was confirmed by the pope in 1602 and the dedicated

St. Kazimierz Church, Warsaw, and more than 50 churches in Lithuanian and Polish diaspora communities in America. Women's congregation Sisters of Saint Casimir
was established in 1908 and remains active in the United States.

Biography

Early life and education

A member of the

Elisabeth Habsburg of Austria. Elisabeth was a loving mother and took active interest in her children's upbringing.[2] The Queen and the children often accompanied the King in his annual trips to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[citation needed
]

Casimir was a

Bishop of Kujawy, in 1470.[4]

Hungarian campaign

Main articles:
Bohemian–Hungarian War (1468–78) and Black Army of Hungary
Długosz and Saint Casimir by Florian Cynk (circa 1869)

Prince Casimir's uncle

Vladislaus, eldest son of Casimir IV, was elected to the throne of Bohemia. However, a group of Catholic Bohemian nobles supported Matthias Corvinus instead of Vladislaus II. In turn, a group of Hungarian nobles conspired against Matthias Corvinus and invited the Polish king to overthrow him. King Casimir IV decided to install his son, Casimir, in Hungary.[citation needed
]

Poland amassed an army of 12,000 men, commanded by

János Vitéz, and the Polish army did not receive the expected reinforcements. Only Deák, Perény and Rozgonyi families sent troops.[6] Upon hearing that Corvinus' army of 16,000 men camped outside of Pest, the Polish army decided to retreat from Hatvan to Nitra. There the soldiers battled food shortages, spreading infectious diseases, and the upcoming winter. The Polish King also lacked funds to pay the mercenaries. As a result, the Polish army decreased by about a third.[6] In December 1471, Prince Casimir, fearing for his safety, was sent to Jihlava closer to the Polish border and that further eroded their soldiers' morale. Corvinus took Nitra and a one-year truce was completed in March 1472 in Buda.[6] Prince Casimir returned to Kraków to resume his studies with Długosz.[citation needed
]

Długosz remarked that Prince Casimir felt "great sorrow and shame" regarding the failure in Hungary.[7] Polish propaganda, however, portrayed him as a savior, sent by divine providence, to protect the people from a godless tyrant (i.e. Matthias Corvinus) and marauding pagans (i.e. Muslim Ottoman Turks). Prince Casimir was also exposed to the cult of his uncle King Władysław III of Poland who died in the 1444 Battle of Varna against the Ottomans. This led some researchers, including Jacob Caro, to conclude that the Hungarian campaign pushed Prince Casimir into religious life.[7]

Later life and death

Casimir's silver sarcophagus at the Chapel of Saint Casimir, Vilnius Cathedral

As his elder brother, Vladislaus II, ruled Bohemia, Prince Casimir became the heir apparent to the throne of Poland and Lithuania. Italian humanist writer

Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania demanded that King Casimir IV leave either Prince Casimir or Prince John I Albert in Lithuania as a regent. King Casimir IV feared separatist moods and refused, but after settling the conflict in Prussia, moved to Vilnius.[8]

Between 1479 and 1484 his father spent most of his time in Vilnius attending to the affairs of Lithuania. In 1481,

Saint Casimir's Chapel was built in 1636.[citation needed
]

Veneration

Pious life and attributed miracles

Lithuanian folk sculpture of Saint Casimir

Surviving contemporary accounts described Prince Casimir as a young man of exceptional intellect and education, humility and politeness, who strove for justice and fairness.

trochaic dimeter with internal rhyme in the first and third verses (aa/b, cc/b)) and was most likely written by Bernard of Cluny.[16]

One of the first miracles attributed to Casimir was his appearance before the Lithuanian army during the

Grand Duchy of Moscow.[13] Ferreri's hagiography of 1521 mentions many miracles of Casimir are known but describes only one – a Lithuanian victory against the Russians. The description lacks specifics, such as date or location, but most likely refers to the Lithuanian victory in 1519 against Russian troops that raided the environs of Vilnius, and not the more popular story of the Siege of Polotsk.[17]

Canonization and official veneration

Saint Casimir on the cover page of his first hagiography

Casimir's official cult started spreading soon after his death. In 1501,

Protestant Reformation attacked the cult of saints and there were no new canonizations between 1523 and 1588.[25] However, Casimir was included in the first Roman Martyrology, published in 1583.[26]

The cause of Casimir's cult was taken up by the new Bishop of Vilnius Benedykt Woyna (appointed in 1600). He sent canon Gregorius Swiecicki to Rome with a letter from King Sigismund III Vasa requesting to add the feast of Casimir to the Roman Breviary and Roman Missal.[27] The Sacred Congregation of Rites refused the request[27] but on 7 November 1602 Pope Clement VIII issued a papal brief Quae ad sanctorum which authorized his feast sub duplici ritu on 4 March but only in Poland and Lithuania.[28] The brief also mentioned that Casimir was added to the ranks of saints by Pope Leo X.[28] In the absence of any earlier known papal document explicitly mentioning Casimir as saint, the brief is often cited as Casimir's canonization.[23][29] Swiecicki returned to Vilnius with the papal brief and red velvet labarum with the image of Saint Casimir.[30] The city organized a large three-day festival on 10–12 May 1604 to properly accept the papal flag. On the third day, the cornerstone was laid for the new Church of St. Casimir.[30] The coffin of Casimir was taken out of the crypt and elevated to the altar. Swiecicki testified that when the coffin was opened in August 1604 a wonderful smell filed the cathedral for three days.[31]

Saint Casimir by Daniel Schultz (1615–1683)

In 1607 and 1613, Bishop Woyna declared Casimir patron saint of Lithuania (Patronus principalis Lithuaniae).

displaced war refugees, Pope Pius XII named Casimir the special patron of Lithuanian youth.[35]

Iconography

Saint Casimir's painting in Vilnius Cathedral is considered to be miraculous. The painting, probably completed around 1520, depicts the saint with two right hands. According to a legend, the painter attempted to redraw the hand in a different place and paint over the old hand, but the old hand miraculously reappeared. More conventional explanations claim that three-handed Casimir was the original intent of the painter to emphasize the exceptional generosity of Casimir ("But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." Matthew 6:3) or that the old hand bled through a coat of new paint (similar to a palimpsest). Around 1636 the painting was covered in gilded silver clothing (riza).[citation needed]

Casimir's iconography usually follows the three-handed painting. He is usually depicted as a young man in long red robe lined with stoat fur. Sometimes he wears a red cap of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, but other times, to emphasize his devotion to spiritual life, the cap is placed near Casimir. Almost always he holds a lily, a symbol of virginity, innocence, and purity. He might also hold a cross, a rosary, or a book with words from Omni die dic Mariae (Daily, Daily Sing to Mary). The towns of Kvėdarna and Nemunaitis in Lithuania have Saint Casimir depicted on their coat of arms.[citation needed]

Physical remains and relics

Saint Casimir by Carlo Dolci (1616–1686) in the collection of Palazzo Pitti

Casimir was buried in the

Soviet authorities.[39]
The cathedral was turned into an art gallery. The relics returned to their place in 1989 when the cathedral was reconsecrated.

After the rediscovery of the

Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany[n 1] in October 1677,[46] to the Sodality of Our Lady of the Jesuit academy in Mechelen[43] and the Order of Malta in October 1690,[47] to Queen Maria Josepha of Austria in February 1736,[32] to Cistercian abbot Sztárek Lajos of Cikádor Abbey [hu] in 1860.[48][49] Many more relics of Casimir can be found in local churches. In particular, in 1838, two teeth and ten unspecified bones were removed from the coffin; the bones were cut into small pieces and distributed among various churches.[50] In 1922, the bones were wrapped in a new cloth and the old cloth was distributed as a relic.[51] It was the last time that a relic of Casimir (one tooth for the Church of St. Casimir) was taken.[52]

Dedications

In his 1970 monograph priest Florijonas Neviera (Florian Niewiero, 1896–1976) counted churches named after Casimir. He found 12 churches in Lithuania (as of 1940), 48 churches and 5 chapels in Poland, 23 Lithuanian and 36 Polish churches in United States (as of 1964), five churches in Canada (

College of Saint Casimir was established in Rome to educate Lithuanian priests who fled west after World War II.[32]

Fresco of Saint Casimir in the Santuario della Mentorella [it], painted in the 19th century

While the devotion to Casimir is most prevalent in Lithuania and Poland and their diaspora communities, his cult can be found in other countries as well. In the 17th century, at least two societies of Saint Casimir were active in

Galleria Regionale della Sicilia).[56]

The settlements of

Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in San Jose, California, and at the Church of St. Peter in Chevaigné, France.[citation needed] Since 1846, there is a nursing home in Paris named Maison Saint-Casimir. It was created by the Polish community of France and is run since its opening by Polish nuns Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ The full tibia is now held at the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence in a reliquary by Massimiliano Soldani Benzi. Image can be seen at The Treasure of the ‘Chapel of Relics’ in the Pitti Palace – Sacri Splendori. In return, Vilnius Cathedral received relics of Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi. (Česnulis (2014), p. 14)
References
  1. ISBN 978-1-57607-355-1
    .
  2. ^ a b Duczmal 2012, p. 302.
  3. ^ "Šventojo Kazimiero gyvenimo istorija". Vilnius Cathedral (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 3 March 2023. Jo gyvenimą tyrinėjo popiežiaus Leono X legatas vyskupas Z. Ferreri. 1521 m. jis išspausdino biografiją „Vita beati Casimiri, scripta Vilniae" — tai vienintelis XVI a. šaltinis, kalbantis apie asketišką Kazimiero gyvenimą. Autorius akcentuoja, kad Kazimieras mokėjęs lietuvių, lenkų, vokiečių ir lotynų kalbas, turėjęs nemažai dorybių: buvo teisingas, susivaldantis, tvirtos dvasios, išmintingas.
  4. ^ a b Duczmal 2012, p. 303.
  5. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 304.
  6. ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 305.
  7. ^ a b c d Duczmal 2012, p. 306.
  8. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 307.
  9. ^ a b Duczmal 2012, p. 308.
  10. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 308–309.
  11. ^ Duczmal 2012, p. 309.
  12. ^ Duczmal 2012, pp. 309–310.
  13. ^ a b c Duczmal 2012, p. 310.
  14. ^ Čiurinskas 2004, p. 33.
  15. ^ a b Burns 2007, p. 104.
  16. ^ Conway 2003, p. 591.
  17. ^ Čiurinskas 2004, pp. 14–15.
  18. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, pp. 146–147.
  19. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, pp. 148–149.
  20. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, p. 15.
  21. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, p. 17.
  22. ^ a b Čiurinskas 2004, p. 4.
  23. ^ a b Žemaitytė 2012.
  24. ^ Paltarokas 2010, p. 70.
  25. ^ Ahlgren 1998, p. 145.
  26. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, p. 18.
  27. ^ a b c Rabikauskas 1958b.
  28. ^ a b Čiurinskas 2003, p. 173.
  29. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, p. 19.
  30. ^ a b Rabikauskas 1958a.
  31. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, p. 175.
  32. ^ a b c d e Česnulis 2014, p. 14.
  33. ^ Vilimas 2012, p. 109.
  34. ^ Vaišnora 1958, p. 39.
  35. ^ Paltarokas 2010, p. 136.
  36. ^ a b c d Šapoka 1958.
  37. ^ Vilnius Cathedral.
  38. ^ Rėklaitis 1958.
  39. ^ Paltarokas 2010, p. 129.
  40. ^ a b Maslauskaitė 2006, p. 35.
  41. ^ Čiurinskas 2003, pp. 175–176.
  42. ^ Maslauskaitė 2006, pp. 41–42.
  43. ^ a b c Rabikauskas 1960.
  44. ^ Ryszka-Komarnicka 2009, p. 121.
  45. ^ Abos 2003, p. XVI.
  46. ^ a b Maslauskaitė 2006, p. 38.
  47. ^ a b Liulevičius 1984.
  48. ^ Maslauskaitė 2006, p. 39.
  49. ^ Békefi 1894, p. 102.
  50. ^ Maslauskaitė 2006, p. 40.
  51. ^ Maslauskaitė 2006, pp. 40–41.
  52. ^ Maslauskaitė 2006, p. 41.
  53. ^ Ryszka-Komarnicka 2009, p. 113.
  54. ^ Ryszka-Komarnicka 2009, p. 124.
  55. ^ Ryszka-Komarnicka 2009, pp. 113–114.
  56. ^ Mancuso 2013.
Bibliography

External links

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