St. John of Kanty

St. John of Kanty

Memorial: December 23
Patron saint of Lithuania and Poland

St. John of Kanty was born John Cantius in a small town in Poland in 1390. At age 23, he left his country home for Kraków to study for the priesthood. He enrolled in a prestigious university just outside the city where he earned a doctorate in philosphy and began teaching philosophy, while continuing his studies for the priesthood. 

After ordination, John was became a professor at the university, eventually rising to be head of the philosophy and theology departments.  Known for his generosity and kindness, he rose in popularity, which put him at odds with some of the other professors. With rising dissention, he was sent to serve at a parish in Olkusa, a small, rural town in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). 

His parishioners were not welcoming, knowing of his past difficulties, and it was not a job for which John was well-prepared, so he struggled in his new position. Nevertheless, with patience and perserverance and without showing bitterness for what had happened to him, he eventually won the people over.  After eight years, he was called back to the university where he taught sacred Scripture.

In addition to being a scholar, St. John of Kanty was known for his compassion, his holiness, his humility, and for living a simple, austere life. Canonized by Pope Clement XIII in 1767, he is the patron saint of Poland and Lithuania and was an influential figure in the life of Saint John Paul II, who, during a pilgrimage to Kraków in 1997, prayed at his tomb, saying that St. John of Kanty's life exempled what happens when "knowledge and wisdom seek a convenant with holiness."