John of Capistrano “Capistrano” redirects here. For other uses, see Capistrano (disambiguation). Saint John of Capistrano (Italian: San Giovanni Painting in St. John of Capistrano Church in Ilok, Croatia, where he was buried 1 Early life Statue of John of Capistrano in Budapest, Hungary As was the custom of this time, John is denoted by the da Capestrano, Slovenian: Janez Kapistran, Hungarian: village of Capestrano, in the Diocese of Sulmona, in the Kapisztrán János, Polish: Jan Kapistran, Croatian: Ivan Abruzzi region, Kingdom of Naples. His father had come Kapistran, Serbian: Јован Капистран, Jovan Kapis- to Italy with the Angevin court of Louis I of Anjou, tit- tran) (June 24, 1386 – October 23, 1456) was a ular King of Naples. He studied law at the University of Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from the Italian town Perugia. [1] of Capestrano, Abruzzo. Famous as a preacher, theolo- In 1412, King Ladislaus of Naples appointed him Gov- gian, and inquisitor, he earned himself the nickname 'the ernor of Perugia, a tumultuous and resentful papal fief Soldier Saint' when in 1456 at age 70 he led a crusade held by Ladislas as the pope’s champion, in order to ef- against the invading Ottoman Empire at the siege of Bel- fectively establish public order. When war broke out be- grade with the Hungarian military commander John Hun- tween Perugia and the Malatestas in 1416, John was sent yadi. as ambassador to broker a peace, but Malatesta threw him Elevated to sainthood, he is the patron saint of jurists and in prison. During the captivity, in despair he put aside military chaplains, as well as the namesake of the Francis- his new young wife, never having consummated the mar- can missions San Juan Capistrano in Southern California riage, and started studying theology with Bernardino of and San Juan Capistrano in San Antonio, Texas. Siena.[1] 1 2 3 REFORMER were burned at the stake.[4][5] 3 Reformer Monument in Vienna, near St.Stephen’s cathedral Saint John of Capistrano 2 Friar and preacher When he was not preaching, John was writing tracts against heresy of every kind. This facet of his life is Together with James of the Marches, John entered covered in great detail by his early biographers, Nicholas the Order of Friars Minor at Perugia on October 4, of Fara, Christopher of Varese and Girlamo of Udine. 1416.[1] At once he gave himself up to the most rigor- While he was thus evangelizing, he was actively engaged ous asceticism, violently defending the ideal of strict ob- in assisting Bernardine of Siena in the reform of the Fran- servance and orthodoxy, following the example set by ciscan Order, largely in the interests of a more rigorous Bernardine. From 1420 onwards, he preached with great discipline in the Franciscan communities.[6] Like Bernar- effect in numerous cities and eventually became well dine, he strongly emphasized devotion to the Holy Name known. of Jesus, and, together with that saint, was accused of Unlike most Italian preachers of repentance in the 15th heresy on this account. In 1429, these Observant fri- century, John was effective in northern and central ars were called to Rome to answer charges of heresy, Europe - in German states of Holy Roman Empire, and John was chosen by his companions to speak for Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Kingdom of them. They were both acquitted by the Commission of Poland. The largest churches could not hold the crowds, Cardinals appointed to judge the accusations. so he preached in the public squares--at Brescia in Italy, [1] He was frequently deployed to embassies by Popes he preached to a crowd of 126,000. Eugene IV and Nicholas V: in 1439, he was sent as John was known as the “Scourge of the Jews”[2] for his legate to Milan and Burgundy, to oppose the claims of inciting of antisemitic violence. Like some other Fran- the Antipope Felix V; in 1446, he was on a mission to the ciscans, he ranged over a broad area on both sides of the King of France; in 1451 he went at the request of the em- Alps, and John’s preaching to mass open-air congrega- peror as Apostolic Nuncio to Austria. During the period tions often led to pogroms.[3] Between 1451 and 1453, of his nunciature, John visited all parts of the Empire, his fiery sermons against Jews persuaded many southern preaching and combating the heresy of the Hussites; he German regions to expel their entire Jewish population, also visited Poland at the request of Casimir IV Jagiellon. and in Silesia, then Kingdom of Bohemia, at Breslau some As legate, or inquisitor, he prosecuted the last Fraticelli 3 of Ferrara, the Jesuati of Venice, the Crypto-Jews of Crusade against the invading Turks at the Imperial Diet Sicily, Moldavia and Poland, and, above all, the Hussites of Frankfurt. Gaining little response in Bavaria and Aus- of Germany, Hungary and Bohemia; his aim in the last tria, he decided to concentrate his efforts in Hungary. case was to make talks impossible between the represen- John succeeded in gathering together enough troops to tatives of Rome and the Bohemians, for every attempt at march onto Belgrade, which at that time was under siege conciliation seemed to him to be conniving at heresy. by Turkish forces. In the summer of 1456, these troops, together with John Hunyadi, managed to raise the siege John, in spite of this restless life, found time to work-- [6] both during the lifetime of his mentor, Bernardine, and of Belgrade; the old and frail friar actually led his own contingent into battle. This feat earned him the moniker afterwards--on the reform of the Order of Friars Mi- nor. He also upheld, in his writings, speeches and ser- of 'the Soldier Priest'. mons, theories of papal supremacy rather than the the- Although he survived the battle, John fell victim to the ological wranglings of councils (see Conciliar Move- bubonic plague, which flourished in the unsanitary condi- ment). John, together with his teacher, Bernardine, his tions prevailing among armies of the day. He died on 23 colleague, James of the Marche, and Albert Berdini of October 1456[6] at the nearby town of Ilok, Kingdom of Sarteano, are considered the four great pillars of the Ob- Croatia in personal union with Hungary (now a Croatian servant reform among the Friars Minor.[7] border town on the Danube). 5 Sainthood and feast day The year of John of Capistrano’s canonization is variously given as 1690,[8] by Pope Alexander VIII or 1724 by Pope Benedict XIII. In 1890, his feast day was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar and assigned to 28 March.[9] In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved his feast day to 23 October, the day of his death. Some Traditionalist Catholics observe calendar of the 1890 to 1969 period. 6 Eponym As a Franciscan reformer preaching simplicity, John be- came the eponym of two Spanish missions founded by the Franciscan friars in the north of the then-Spanish Amer- icas: Mission San Juan Capistrano in today’s Southern California and Mission San Juan Capistrano just outside the city center of today’s San Antonio in Texas.[10] 7 Patron saint He is patron saint of military chaplains and jurists.[11] The saint’s coat of arms, with a sword piercing a crescent moon, on the Papal Ombrellino at Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano 8 See also 4 The soldier saint • Church of St. Wojciech, in Krakow, Poland, ser- mons After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman • Empire, under Sultan Mehmed II, threatened Chris- Mission San Juan Capistrano in Southern California tian Europe. That following year Pope Callixtus III sent John, who was already aged seventy, to preach a • Mission San Juan Capistrano in San Antonio, Texas 4 10 EXTERNAL LINKS 9 References [1] Hess, Lawrence. “St. John Capistran.” The Catholic En- cyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Com- pany, 1910. 1 Feb. 2014 [2] [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/ 4004-capistrano-john-of Jewish Encyclopedia, 1908 [3] Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews, p.216 [4] Antisemitism: a historical encyclopedia of prejudice and persecution, Richard S. Levy, published by ABC-CLIO, 2005, and available here [5] Will Durant, The Reformation, Simon & Schuster (1957), page 731 [6] Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Francis- can Media [7] American Catholic.org “St. James of the Marche” [8] Lodi, Enzo. Saints of the Roman Calendar, Alba House [9] ST JOHN OF CAPISTRANO (A.D. 1456) Retrieved September 13, 2006; Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 106) [10] Engelhardt, Zephyrin, O.F.M. San Juan Capistrano Mis- sion. 1922. Standard Printing Co., Los Angeles, CA. [11] Craughwell, Thomas (23 October 2009). “St. John of Capistrano: Patron of Military Chaplains”. CatholicMil.org (reprinted from Arlington Catholic Herald). Retrieved 2009-12-28. 10 External links 5 11 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses 11.1 Text • John of Capistrano Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Capistrano?oldid=630783852 Contributors: Delirium, Charles Matthews, Joy, Wetman, Dimadick, Gentgeen, Jondel, Wwoods, Andycjp, JoJan, Gauss, Necrothesp, Icairns, Klemen Kocjancic, D6, Rich Farmbrough, Lou Crazy, CanisRufus, Lima, Polylerus, Harej, PANONIAN, Woohookitty, Cuchullain, BD2412, Ghepeu, Jaraalbe, YurikBot, Ennobee, RussBot, KissL, Snek01, J S Ayer, Little Savage, Staffelde, Contaldo80, GrinBot, Attilios, Scolaire, SmackBot, Roy- alguard11, Gilliam, Betacommand, Carl.bunderson, F382d56d7a18630cf764a5b576ea1b4810467238, Švitrigaila, Roscelese, DarioTW, Jan.Kamenicek, Kendrick7, Ian Spackman, Mathiasrex,