St. John of Capistrano

John was the son of a German knight. He was born in 1385 in Capistrano, Italy. After studying law at the University of Perugia he became a lawyer in Naples and was later appointed governor of Perugia. During a conflict with a neighboring town, John was captured and imprisoned. His time in prison drew him closer to God and he entered the Franciscans in 1416, after obtaining a dispensation from his marriage because it had not been consummated. He was taught by St. Bernardine of Siena; John became a brilliant preaching, traveling through Italy, Bohemia, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Poland and Russia preaching conversion and establishing many Franciscan communities. Some of his methods against heretics were considered harsh. When the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453 he preached a crusade against them and personally led a charge at the battle of Belgrade in 1456; the resulting siege of Belgrade prevented Turkish forces from overrunning the rest of Europe. John of Capistrano died of the plague in Austria a few weeks after the battle, on October 23. He was canonized in 1690. He is a patron of jurists.