Pious life and attributed miracles 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. Early sources do not attest to his piety or devotion to God, but his inclination to religious life increased towards the end of his life. Later sources provide some stories of Casimir's religious life.
Marcin Kromer (1512–1589) said Casimir refused his physician's advice to have sexual relations with women in hopes to cure his illness. Other accounts say Casimir contracted his lung disease after a particularly hard fast or that he could be found pre-dawn, kneeling by the church gates, waiting for a priest to open them.
Zacharias Ferreri (1479–1524) wrote that Casimir composed a prayer in
hexameter on Christ's
incarnation but this text has not survived. Later, a copy of
Omni die dic Mariae ("Daily, Daily Sing to Mary") was found in Casimir's coffin. The hymn became so strongly associated with Casimir that sometimes it is known as "Hymn of St. Casimir" and he is credited as its author. The lengthy hymn has an intricate
meter and rhyme scheme (alternate
acatalectic and
catalectic trochaic dimeter with
internal rhyme in the first and third verses (aa/b, cc/b)) and was most likely written by
Bernard of Cluny. One of the first miracles attributed to Casimir was his appearance before the Lithuanian army during the
Siege of Polotsk in 1518. Casimir showed where Lithuanian troops could safely cross the
Daugava River and relieve the city, besieged by the army of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow. 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.
Canonization and official veneration Casimir's official cult started spreading soon after his death. In 1501,
Pope Alexander VI, citing Casimir's miracles as well as the splendor of the chapel where he was buried, granted a special
indulgence to those who would pray in the chapel from one
vespers to another during certain Catholic festivals, and would contribute to the upkeep of the chapel. In 1513,
Andrzej Krzycki wrote a poem mentioning numerous wax
votive offerings on Casimir's grave. In 1514, during the
Fifth Council of the Lateran, Casimir's brother
Sigismund I the Old petitioned the pope to canonize Casimir. After repeated requests, in November 1517,
Pope Leo X appointed a three-bishop commission and later sent his legate
Zacharias Ferreri to investigate. He arrived at Vilnius in September 1520 and completed his work in about two months. His findings, the first short
hagiography of Casimir, was published in 1521 in
Kraków as
Vita Beati Casimiri Confessoris. The canonization was all but certain but Pope Leo X died in December 1521. Research of
Zenonas Ivinskis and
Paulius Rabikauskas showed that there is no documentary proof that he issued a
papal bull canonizing Casimir but many important documents were lost during the
Sack of Rome (1527). The
Protestant Reformation attacked the cult of saints and there were no new canonizations between 1523 and 1588. However, Casimir was included in the first
Roman Martyrology, published in 1583. 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. The
Sacred Congregation of Rites refused the request 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. The brief also mentioned that Casimir was added to the ranks of saints by Pope Leo X. In the absence of any earlier known papal document explicitly mentioning Casimir as saint, the brief is often cited as Casimir's canonization. Swiecicki returned to Vilnius with the papal brief and red velvet
labarum with the image of Saint Casimir. 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. 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 filled the cathedral for three days. (1615–1683) In 1607 and 1613, Bishop Woyna declared Casimir patron saint of Lithuania (
Patronus principalis Lithuaniae). The issue of a universal Casimir's feast was not forgotten and in 1620 Bishop
Eustachy Wołłowicz petitioned
Pope Paul V to add Casimir to the
Roman Breviary and
Roman Missal. This time the
Sacred Congregation of Rites granted the request in March 1621 and added his feast
sub ritu semiduplici. In March 1636,
Pope Urban VIII allowed the celebration of the feast of Casimir with an
octave (
duplex cum octava) in the
Diocese of Vilnius and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania. That is equivalent of proclaiming Casimir as the
patron saint of Lithuania. On 28 September 1652,
Pope Innocent X allowed a fest of
transfer of relics of Casimir on a Sunday following the
Assumption of Mary. On 11 June 1948, when many Lithuanians were
displaced war refugees,
Pope Pius XII named Casimir the special patron of Lithuanian youth.
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). 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.
Physical remains and relics (1616–1686) in the collection of
Palazzo Pitti Casimir was buried in the
crypt under the Royal Chapel of
Vilnius Cathedral (present-day Wołłowicz Chapel to the left from the main entrance), constructed by his father in the
Gothic style in 1474. In 1604, the coffin was elevated from the crypt to the altar and in 1636 moved to the dedicated
Chapel of Saint Casimir. The present-day sarcophagus was made in 1747 under the last will of Bishop of Warmia
Christopher Johan Szembek (1680–1740). It is made of linden wood and covered with silver plates; its corners are decorated with gilded eagles. The sarcophagus was removed from the cathedral on three occasions. In 1655, before the
Battle of Vilnius during the
Deluge, the relics were removed most likely by
Jerzy Białłozor and hid by
Cyprian Paweł Brzostowski and later by the
Sapiehas in the
Ruzhany Palace. They were returned to the devastated chapel in 1663. The relics were removed for a short time in 1702 during the
Battle of Vilnius of the
Great Northern War. In October 1952, the relics were quietly moved to the
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul by the order of
Soviet authorities. 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
Catacombs of Rome in 1578, the cult of
relics spread throughout Europe and the trend did not skip Casimir. The coffin of Casimir was opened in early 1602 and in August 1604. At the time, canon Gregorius Swiecicki testified that despite humidity the body was intact. But in 1667 there were only bones left; they were inventoried and placed into six cloth bags. Surviving written records indicate that the coffin was opened in 1664, 1667, 1677, 1690, 1736, 1838, 1878 (twice), and 1922. There are several recorded instances when Casimir's relics were gifted to prominent figures and societies: to musicians'
confraternity at
San Giorgio Maggiore, Naples in early 1650s, to King
John III Sobieski and
Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in October 1677, to the
Sodality of Our Lady of the Jesuit academy in
Mechelen and the
Order of Malta in October 1690, to Queen
Maria Josepha of Austria in February 1736, to Cistercian abbot Sztárek Lajos of in 1860. 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. In 1922, the bones were wrapped in a new cloth and the old cloth was distributed as a relic. It was the last time that a relic of Casimir (one tooth for the
Church of St. Casimir) was taken.
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 the United States (as of 1964), five churches in Canada (
Montreal,
Winnipeg,
Toronto,
Portneuf, and
Ripon), two churches in United Kingdom (
London and
Manchester), and two churches in Belarus (
Vselyub and
Lepiel). The women's congregation
Sisters of Saint Casimir was established in 1908 by
Maria Kaupas and is active in the United States. In 1945, the
College of Saint Casimir was established in Rome to educate Lithuanian priests who fled west after World War II. 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
Mechelen and
Antwerp (now Belgium). In the 17th century, Casimir's cult also spread in Italy, particularly
Florence,
Palermo,
Naples; his cult in Rome was more associated with Polish dignitaries and émigrés. Musical performances were organized in Rome in 1675 (words by Sebastiano Lazzarini, music by Francesco Beretta, performed at
Santo Spirito in Sassia) and in 1678 (words by Ottavio Santacroce, music probably by
Giovanni Bicilli, performed at
Santa Maria in Vallicella on the occasion of the visit by
Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł and his wife
Katarzyna Sobieska), and in Florence in 1706 (words possibly by Cardinal
Pietro Ottoboni, music by
Alessandro Scarlatti). In Palermo,
Pietro Novelli was commissioned painting
Coronation of Saint Casimir (l'Incoronazione di s. Casimiro) for the altar of
Chiesa di San Nicola da Tolentino (now held at the
Galleria Regionale della Sicilia). The settlements of
Saint-Casimir in Canada (founded 1836) and
San Casimiro in Venezuela (founded 1785) are named after him. Sculptures of Casimir, among other
canonized royals, can be found in
San Ferdinando, Livorno, Italy and
Metropolitan Cathedral, Mexico City. Stained glass windows with Casimir can be found at the
Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in
San Jose, California, and at the Church of St. Peter in
Chevaigné, France. 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. ==Notes==