I was at a funeral on Monday and one of my cousins and I started talking about our Polish heritage. We are descended from Polish royalty and he took me to the front of the church and pointed at a painting on the wall that said, Swieta Jadwick. He told me that is a multiple-great grandmother of ours.
I did some research on this and found out that Swieta Jadwick, or Jadwiga, in some instances, is St. Hedwig, The Blessed, in English. She was the first queen of the Jagiellonian Dynasty, though her official title was King because they wanted to show her ruling power at a time when she had to take a king and couldn't rule by herself. When she married Wladislav II, she retained the title, king, as did he.
She was later canonized because she refused to marry Wladislav until he converted to become Catholic and she propogated the Catholic faith throughout Lithuania.
Her son, Casimir, became king after her husband and first son died. Casimir is also St. Casimir of Poland. He was canonized because his tomb became known for miracles.
So, that makes 2 saints that I have in my lineage. I think this is just cooler than words and I can't wait until Sunday when I can tell my CCD class about this.
On a lesser note, I also found out that Vlad the Impaler (Count Dracula) is also distantly related to the Jagiellonians, so he is also in my family tree. My kids think this is pretty neat, too.
Anyone else with saints in their family tree?
I did some research on this and found out that Swieta Jadwick, or Jadwiga, in some instances, is St. Hedwig, The Blessed, in English. She was the first queen of the Jagiellonian Dynasty, though her official title was King because they wanted to show her ruling power at a time when she had to take a king and couldn't rule by herself. When she married Wladislav II, she retained the title, king, as did he.
She was later canonized because she refused to marry Wladislav until he converted to become Catholic and she propogated the Catholic faith throughout Lithuania.
Her son, Casimir, became king after her husband and first son died. Casimir is also St. Casimir of Poland. He was canonized because his tomb became known for miracles.
So, that makes 2 saints that I have in my lineage. I think this is just cooler than words and I can't wait until Sunday when I can tell my CCD class about this.
On a lesser note, I also found out that Vlad the Impaler (Count Dracula) is also distantly related to the Jagiellonians, so he is also in my family tree. My kids think this is pretty neat, too.
Anyone else with saints in their family tree?
Sr. Elizabeth had always said that she was. Evidently, her death was not only religiously related, but politically motivated, so she isn't considered a true martyr. Boy, was I mad at Sr. Elizabeth!
With regard to his crime, my cousin thinks that the family changed their name to something similar after he was hung out of shame, so that is where the link falls apart.
