Saint Casimir

Polish and Lithuanian prince (1458–1484)

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Lived 1458–1484, aged 26

Wikipedia
39 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1458–1484
Aged 26

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

A Polish-Lithuanian prince who died of tuberculosis at 25 became the only saint bearing his name — and patron of two nations. His cult resurged centuries later, seeding more than a hundred churches across two continents and an annual trade fair in Vilnius still held on the Sunday nearest his death.

Biography

About

Born 3 October 1458, Casimir Jagiellon was the second son of King Casimir IV, tutored by the chronicler-priest Johannes Longinus. When his elder brother Vladislaus took the Bohemian crown in 1471, Casimir became heir apparent. At 13 he was thrust into a failed military bid for the Hungarian throne. What followed was a turn inward: he grew known for piety, devotion, and quiet generosity to the sick and poor. Tuberculosis — most likely — took him at 25. He was buried in Vilnius Cathedral in 1484. His brother Sigismund I began pushing for canonization in 1514; tradition holds it came through in 1…

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