Blessed Mykolas Giedraitis

Blessed Michał Giedroyć (Lithuanian: Mykolas Giedraitis; c. 1425 – 4 May 1485) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic noble and brother of the Canons Regular of the Penitence of the Blessed Martyrs. Giedroyć did not have any great accomplishments, but his life followed the Devotio moderna, a movement calling for genuine pious practices such as humility, obedience, and simplicity of life. Giedroyć was born to a noble family in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. One of his feet was paralyzed and he had to use crutches when walking. He later became a religious in the Canons Regular of the Penitence of the Blessed Martyrs, an Augustinian order. In 1460, he moved to Kraków, Kingdom of Poland, where he received a university degree and remained until his death. He lived an austere life as a hermit in a hut attached to the Church of St. Mark, Kraków where he served as a sacristan. He practiced self-flagellation. He was said to have received a vision from Jesus Christ and to have the gift of prophesy. The cause for his canonization was launched sometime after his death and his relics were raised and enshrined in 1624. However, the beatification stalled and was abandoned in the 17th century. The cause was revived in the 1980s and in 2001 he was recognized as a Servant of God. On 7 November 2018, Pope Francis authorized his equipollent beatification due to recognition of his longstanding local cultus (veneration). Michał Giedroyć was born around 1420–1425 to the princely Giedroyć family of Lithuanian nobles. His place of birth is usually indicated as Giedraičiai, but some researchers suggest it could be Videniškiai. His year of birth is not known and is estimated based on his signature witnessing a donation by the Radziwiłł family to the Franciscans in Vilnius in 1439 – i.e. he had to be at least 15-years old. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was officially converted to Catholicism only in 1387, making Giedroyć only the second generation to be baptized.