John Sarkander

Saint John Sarkander
Statue of John Sarkander at Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc
Saint and martyr
Born	December 20, 1576 Skoczów, Silesia, Crown of Bohemia (now Poland)
Died	March 17, 1620 Olomouc, Moravia, Crown of Bohemia (now Czech Republic)
Beatified	May 6, 1860, Rome, Italy by Pope Pius IX
Canonized	May 21, 1995, Olomouc by Pope John Paul II
Feast	March 17

Saint John Sarkander (Czech and Polish: Jan Sarkander) (December 20, 1576 – March 17, 1620) was a Polish and Moravian priest.

Jan Sarkander was born into a Silesian (Bohemian-Polish) family. His father was Gregory Matthias Sarkander and his mother Helena née Górecka of Kornicz (Kornitz). Jan was born at Skoczów in the Duchy of Teschen (Silesia).

He studied at the University of Olomouc from 1597, and then from 1600 at the Charles University in Prague, where he graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy. Later, he studied theology at the University of Graz. He was ordained in 1609 and worked in Holešov from 1616.

Relief of torturing of John Sarkander on torturing rack at Sarkander's gravestone

In 1620, during the ongoing Bohemian Revolt, Sarkander was accused by the Protestant Moravian Estates of betrayal and he was tortured in Olomouc prison, partially due to his refusal to divulge what was said under the seal of confession.^[1] Today the Saint Jan Sarkander chapel stands on the place of his torture, at the top of Michael's Hill. The original torturing rack and Sarkander's gravestone are preserved here. Sarkander was canonized by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Olomouc in 1995.

Gallery

Frescos in Chapel of Saint John Sarkander in Olomouc:

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  Procession of John Sarkander in Holešov and the Lisowczycy (Polish cavalerists)

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  Incarceration of John Sarkander

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  Torturing of John Sarkander

References

1.  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Bl. John Sarkander". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.