Jan Sarkander | |
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![]() Sketch from 1855 | |
Martyr | |
Born | 20 December 1576 Skoczów, Silesia, Crown of Bohemia (now Poland) |
Died | 17 March 1620 Olomouc, Moravia, Crown of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) | (aged 43)
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 6 May 1860, Saint Peter's Basilica by Pope Pius IX |
Canonized | 21 May 1995[1], Olomouc, Czech Republic by Pope John Paul II |
Feast | 17 March |
Jan Sarkander (Czech and Polish: Jan Sarkander) (20 December 1576 – 17 March 1620[2]) was a Polish-Czech Roman Catholic priest.[3] Sarkander was married for a short period of time before he became widowed and pursued a path to the priesthood where he became active in defence of Catholicism during a period of anti-Catholic sentiment and conflict. He himself was arrested on false accusations as a means of silencing him and he refused to give in to his tormenters who tortured him for around a month before he died.
Pope Pius IX beatified Sarkander at Saint Peter's Basilica in 1860 and Pope John Paul II canonized him as a saint in 1995 on his visit to the Czech Republic.