Saint John of Capistrano O.F.M. | |
|---|---|
 Illumination depicting St. John of Capistrano (c. 1470) | |
| Confessor | |
| Born | 24 June 1386 Capestrano, Abruzzi, Kingdom of Naples |
| Died | 23 October 1456 (aged 70) Ilok, Syrmia, Kingdom of Hungary |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | 16 October 1690 (Liturgy); 4 June 1724 (Bull), Rome by Pope Alexander VIII and Pope Benedict XIII respectively |
| Feast | 23 October; 28 March (General Roman Calendar, 1890–1969) |
| Patronage | Jurists, Belgrade and Hungary |
John of Capistrano, OFM (Italian: San Giovanni da Capestrano, Hungarian: Kapisztrán János, Polish: Jan Kapistran, Croatian: Ivan Kapistran; 24 June 1386 – 23 October 1456) was a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from the Italian town of Capestrano, Abruzzo. Famous as a preacher, theologian, and inquisitor, he earned himself the nickname "the Soldier Saint" when in 1456 at age 70 he led a Crusade against the invading Ottoman Empire at the siege of Belgrade with the Hungarian military commander John Hunyadi.
Elevated to sainthood, he is the patron saint of jurists and military chaplains, as well as the namesake of two Franciscan missions, one in Southern California and the other in San Antonio, Texas.