Bl. Ladislas of Gielniów

Ladislas was born around 1440 in Gielniów, Poland. After university he joined the Franciscan friars in Warsaw. He served several terms as head of the Polish province and helped revise the order's rules.

He sent friars to Lithuania to preach and to reconcile Orthodox Christians with Rome, and he was later called an apostle of Lithuania. He was known for passionate preaching on Christ's Passion and wrote hymns about it in Polish, among the earliest religious songs in the language. He died in Warsaw in 1505. He was beatified in 1586, and is a patron of Poland and Lithuania.

Legend and tradition. Tradition says his prayers protected Poland during a Tatar–Turkish invasion in 1498, and that on his last Good Friday he rose into the air while preaching.

The Church has declared Ladislas of Gielniów Blessed.

Beatification allows public veneration, usually in a particular region or religious family. Canonization extends it to the whole Church.