St. Casimir of Poland

Patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. He was born in 1458 or 1460, the third of thirteen children of King Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of Albert II of Habsburg. He was born on October 3, 1460, in the royal palace at Cracow, Poland. The young prince was trained in spirituality and displayed holiness at an early age. When Casimir IV ordered Casimir to lead an army against King Matthias I Corvinus of Hungary in 1471, he refused. Casimir believed an attempt to seize the Hungarian throne was unjust and refused to take part in it. He was confined to the castle of Dzoki as punishment, and there he refused as well to marry, as his father commanded. When his father was away from Poland from 1479-1483, Casimir served as regent of the nation. Casimir died of consumption on March 4 while visiting Grodno, Lithuania. Buried at Vilnius, Lithuania, his tomb became famed for miracles, and he was canonized in 1522 by Pope Adrian VI . Casimir is also patron of the Knights of St. John and is invoked against enemies of Poland and the faith.