Saint John Capistran, Confessor
S. Ioannis Capistrani Confessoris
Saint John Capistran (1386–1456) was a Franciscan friar, priest, and tireless preacher of penance who travelled across Europe calling the faithful to conversion. His feast is kept on 28 March.
Saint John was born in 1386 at Capestrano, in the Abruzzi region of Italy. Trained in the law, he rose to high civil office and served for a time as governor of Perugia. Imprisoned during a local conflict, he underwent a profound conversion, and on his release he renounced his career and entered the Order of Friars Minor. He was ordained priest and became a disciple and close companion of Saint Bernardine of Siena, with whom he laboured to renew the Franciscan life and to rekindle fervour among the faithful.
Preacher of Penance
For more than thirty years Saint John Capistran travelled through the cities and countryside of Italy and central Europe, preaching with great power to immense crowds. He called sinners to repentance, reconciled enemies, and worked for the reform of morals and the renewal of the Church’s life. Devoted to the Holy Name of Jesus, he carried that devotion wherever he went. His learning, his austerity, and his evident holiness gave weight to his words, and through his preaching countless souls were brought back to the practice of the faith.
In the last year of his life, when great danger threatened the Christian peoples of central Europe, the aged friar gave himself to encouraging the defenders of the city of Belgrade, accompanying them with prayer and exhortation. The deliverance of the city in 1456 was widely received as an answer to prayer.
His Death and Canonization
Worn out by his labours, Saint John Capistran died on 23 October 1456 at Ilok, in present-day Croatia. He was canonized in 1690. In the traditional Roman calendar his feast is assigned to 28 March.
The Collect
O God, who by means of blessed John didst vouchsafe to strengthen Thy faithful people in time of tribulation: grant us, we beseech Thee, lasting peace; and bring those things in which we rejoice that he obtained for the Church on earth to their fulfilment in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Deus, qui per beatum Ioannem fideles tuos in tribulationis adversitate confortare dignatus es: concede nobis, quaesumus; eius intercessione, in adversis perpetua pace gaudere. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Patronage
Saint John Capistran is venerated as a patron of military chaplains and of jurists, and is invoked by those who preach the Gospel and labour for the reform of Christian life.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar, this feast is observed as an optional memorial on 23 October, the day of his death.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint John Capistran?
In the traditional calendar of the 1962 Missal, his feast is kept on 28 March. In the modern calendar it is observed as an optional memorial on 23 October, the day of his death.
Who was Saint John Capistran?
He was a Franciscan friar and priest of the fifteenth century, a famous preacher of penance who travelled across Italy and central Europe calling the faithful to conversion and working for the renewal of the Church.
Was he a companion of Saint Bernardine of Siena?
Yes. He was a close disciple and fellow labourer of Saint Bernardine of Siena, sharing his zeal for reform of the Franciscan Order and his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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