He held in his hands a hymn to the Blessed Virgin

Deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin and inviolably attached to chastity, Prince Casimir (now Saint Casimir, patron of Lithuania) tamed his passions by leading a life of austere mortification. He died of pulmonary tuberculosis in Grodno, Poland, on March 4, 1484.

When his tomb was opened in 1604 to be transferred into a church that Sigismund III, King of Poland, had just built in his honor and dedicated to him, Casimir’s body was found still supple and rosy, fully preserved. In his hands he held a hymn to the Blessed Virgin, beginning with these verses:

"Every day, O my soul, pay your respects to Mary; solemnize her feasts and celebrate her brilliant virtues; contemplate and admire her elevation; proclaim her happiness both as a Mother and a Virgin; honor her, that she may deliver you from the burden of your sins; invoke her so you won’t be carried away by the torrent of your passions.

Yes, it is true, no one can honor Mary as she rightly deserves. But foolish are those who do not praise her. Everyone must exalt and love her especially, and we must never cease to venerate and pray her."

The Marie de Nazareth team