Veneration of St. Casimir in Lithuania

Description

Prince Casimir (1458–1484), recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church, was declared the Protector of Lithuania by Pope Urban VIII in 1636, and by Pope Pius XII in 1948 – the Protector of all Lithuanian youth worldwide. Through enduring traditions of devotion and civic reverence, the images of St. Casimir, along with various other visible symbols of religious belief and historical memory, constitute a culturally significant layer.

The publication aims to reveal the tradition of honoring the Protector of Lithuania and the development of his image from the 16th century to the present day. The image, like the title bestowed by the church or a person's baptismal name, expresses devotion to the saint, taking various forms in different epochs and communities. The book primarily seeks to highlight the historical dissemination of devotion to St. Casimir, the manifestations of veneration for the saint, and the trends in the portrayal of his image. Therefore, the diverse and abundant material is organized not by art genres or iconographic types, but by periods corresponding to the changes in the tradition of honoring the Protector of Lithuania, which are inseparable from the realities of our country's past and present. The publication consists of five parts, some of which are subdivided into themes that elaborate on the concepts of veneration and the portrayal of the saint.