Saint John of Capistrano

John of Capistrano was born in Abruzzo on June 24, 1386, the son of a German baron and a lady from Abruzzo. He studied in Perugia and earned degrees in civil and canon law; he became a respected jurist and was appointed captain of the people of Perugia. When the city was occupied by the Malatesta, he ended up in prison. It was there that he changed his life. Once out, he obtained the annulment of his marriage — never consummated — and joined the Franciscans at the friary of Monteripido, where he met Bernardine of Siena, whom he publicly defended when Bernardine was accused of heresy. From there began a life on the move that never stopped. He preached all over Italy, and then in Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Poland and Hungary, drawing enormous crowds; he was a papal envoy and an inquisitor, and in that role there are dark pages too, including sermons against the Jews that make uncomfortable reading today and have to be told. The last chapter made him famous across much of Europe. In 1456 the Turks were besieging Belgrade, and the city was the gateway to Hungary. John was seventy; he gathered a mass of untrained peasants and craftsmen and led them onto the field alongside the troops of János Hunyadi. Belgrade held. For the Europe of the time, it was enormous news. He died three months later at Ilok, on October 23, 1456, of the plague he had caught in that camp. If your name is John, today is your name day.