October 23 - Saint John of Capistrano
Quick Facts- Son of a former German knight, his father died when John was still young.
- Studied law at the University of Perugia.
- Lawyer in Naples, Italy.
- Reforming governor of Perugia under King Landislas of Naples.
- When war broke out between Perugia and Malatesta in 1416, John tried to broker a peace, but instead his opponents ignored the truce, John became a prisoner of war.
- During his imprisonment he came to the decision to change vocations.
- He had married just before the war, but the marriage was never consummated, and with his bride's permission, it was annulled.
- Franciscan at Perugia on 4 October 1416.
- Fellow student with Saint James of the Marches.
- Disciple of Saint Bernadine of Siena.
- Noted preacher while still a deacon, beginning his work in 1420.
- Itinerant priest throughout Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Russia, preaching to tens of thousands.
- Established communities of Franciscan renewal.Reported to heal by making the Sign of the Cross over a sick person.
- Wrote extensively, mainly against the heresies of the day.
- After the fall of Constantinople, he preached Crusade against the Muslim Turks.
- At age 70 he was commissioned by Pope Callistus II to lead it, and marched off at the head of 70,000 Christian soldiers.
- He won the great battle of Belgrade in the summer of 1456.
- He died in the field a few months later, but his army delivered Europe from the Muslems.
