The Holy Prince of Poland

The young Prince Casimir Jagiellon, born October 3, 1458, in Wawel castle (Kraków, Poland) to King Casimir IV (King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania) and Queen Elizabeth of Austria (daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Albert II) was welcomed into a world in which he could choose to serve whichever master he wanted. He could choose to follow his father—as the king hoped—in the pursuit of power and royalty; he could choose to be vain and comfortable and enjoy all the wealth afforded him by his noble status.

Casimir chose to serve God.

Born the third of thirteen children and second son of the king, Casimir and his siblings received an excellent and thorough education. The fact that they were Catholics notwithstanding, Casimir’s parents nonetheless had ambitions for their children that were more politically inclined. Elizabeth, for example, saw in each of her children a future monarch of one of the kingdoms in Europe. In her mind, the pursuit of perfection was not for her princely children but for those who had abandoned the world for the religious life. Her son, Casimir, was to prove her wrong.

Divine Providence designed that Casimir, and his elder brother Vladislaus received their education from the Polish priest Fr. Jan Długosz. He taught them Latin, German, law, history, rhetoric and classical literature. Under his tutorage, the young Casimir performed severe penances, grew in fervent prayer, and a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother. Daily, he loved to chant that beautiful hymn composed by St Bernard of Clairvaux: Omni die dic Mariæ laudes anima—Everyday, my soul, sing the praises of Mary. We know this hymn today by the title Daily, daily, sing to Mary.

Casimir would spend hours in the night meditating on the Passion of the Lord, and then he would sleep on the floor; he would often visit Churches to pray, and if he found them closed, he would kneel before the closed door to offer his prayers. For a prince who dwelt in a castle adorned with all manner of luxury, he dressed so simply, and spent so much time among the poor, the needy, the widows and the pilgrims whom he served with his belongings and time.

He didn’t stop at corporal works of mercy: He exercised himself greatly in the spiritual too. He wisely counseled and admonished those around him, even his father; he forgave those who wronged him and spent himself in prayer for those close to him, and for his subjects.

Above all, Prince Casimir treasured the virtue of chastity, which he saw perfected in the Blessed Mother. In pursuit of this virtue, he vowed to remain celibate for the sake of the Kingdom.

Naturally opposed to wall and all forms of violence, it was only under obedience to his father that the thirteen-year-old Casimir, in 1471, led an army towards Hungary. Following the death of the king of Hungary and Bohemia, Casimir’s father had asserted his right to name the successor to the throne. He chose his first-born son, Vladislaus, who was rejected by some of the Hungarians preferring the tyrant Matthias Cornivus. With the help of some Hungarian nobles, King Casimir IV named his second-born son, Casimir, to the Hungarian throne by force.

Thus, the reluctant Casimir led the Polish army in a march against the Hungarians. The battle was never to be fought, however, much to Casimir’s relief. The Polish soldiers retreated, partly because they were outnumbered by the Hungarian troops, and partly because they were demoralized because they had not been paid. Casimir was glad to return home, and even more glad to discover that Pope Sixtus IV had been opposed to the war.

His father, however, wasn’t so happy about this victoryless return. In fact, he was so infuriated that he imprisoned Casimir in a tower for three months! This was all the young Casimir needed to return to his life of piety and study. It was during this period that he took his vow of poverty. His father didn’t like this development, and once even tried to arrange a marriage between Casimir and the daughter of Emperor Frederick III, which the young prince refused.

Between 1479 and 1484, King Casimir IV spent most of his time in Vilnius attending to the affairs of Lithuania. During this time, Prince Casimir governed the Kingdom of Poland as prince regent. His reign was one of justice and charity. He asked the Blessed Virgin for the gift of wisdom, the spirit of justice, and vigilance to avoid succumbing to the lures of the world like King Solomon (see 1 Kgs 11:1-6). These gifts the gracious Virgin was glad to bestow on her devoted servant, under whom no subject ever complained about not being properly attended to.

Prince Casimir managed to free most of the royal property from mortgages, and within a short time stabilized the royal treasury, not least by cutting off useless expenses. He also made great efforts to strengthen the relationship, formerly treated lightly by his father, between his beloved Poland and Rome.

His mortifications and the hard work of these years took their toll on him, and in 1483, he had to withdraw to his family in Lithuania to recover. Even there, he cared for the needy and made many donations to convents and Churches. The last six months of his life were spent between Vilnius and Trakai, helping his father in the governance of Lithuania. He died on March 4, 1484, aged twenty-five, of tuberculosis.

He was buried with a copy of his favorite hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary clasped at his chest in the Cathedral of Vilnius. Almost immediately, devotion to him exploded, many miracles being attributed to his intercession. In 1602, Pope Clement VIII officially confirmed his canonization. In 1604, 120 years after his death, his body was exhumed and found to be incorrupt.

By the power of the Holy Ghost, Casimir burned with a sincere and unpretencious love for Almighty God which was almost unbelievable in its strength. –from the life of St Casimir written by a contemporary

“No one can serve two masters,” the Lord said (Mt 6:24). God has given each one of us the power to choose which master it will. It just can’t be more than one. At times we shy away from making the choice because we think that if we choose God, then we will not be able to enjoy whatever the world has to offer.

In a way, this is not entirely wrong.

But perhaps we should stop to consider which master will give us the better—the lasting—reward; the pleasure that does not fade away.

We know for a fact that the pleasures of this world are fleeting. That is why no one who placed his sole focus on them ever had “enough”. It would seem like there is a void in us that can only be filled by One who is infinite.

Choosing God leaves us, it is true, with persecution, self-denial, self-control; but these are not necessarily bad things! If anything, it is these things that make it possible for us to enjoy the material things of the world responsibly, to such an extent that they not only do not get in the way of but can also help us grow closer to God who alone can satisfy.

Besides, and above all, God gives us back “a hundredfold” for whatever we have given up for his sake, both here on earth, and then in heaven, for all eternity (Mk 10:30)! And, on top of all that, he gives us the object of all our desires: the One we are always seeking in all our yearnings (sadly in the wrong places sometimes): himself.

There’s just no deal that can beat that!

St Casimir knew this and chose to serve the Master. He didn’t become any less of a monarch than his father. In fact, he perhaps became a better monarch because he realized that he could be a prince in such a way that it (being a prince) was a service, a prayer to the Most High King.

Whatever our state in life, this decision is one we can make.

St Casimir’s feast day is March 4.