Jews Fear- Great Catholic Saint

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St. John of Capistrano - "Jews' greatest fear"

St John of Capistrano is best known today as a symbol of the town of Ilok in Slavonia (where he was buried).
He was once one of the most popular saints in Catholic Europe. Primarily because he was an uncompromising defender of Christendom from all external and internal enemies - Turks, Jews and heretics.


One of his closest associates, Christopher of Varisio, wrote that the Jews felt immense fear just hearing his name ("universi Judaei, solo ejus nomine audito, vehementer pavebant" - see Joseph van Hecke - Acta sancti Joannis Capistrani, p. 231).


The great Irish Franciscan, Luke Wadding, published most of the documentes relevant to the work of St John of Capistrano in his Annales Minorum.
The most important of these is pope Nicholas V's bull of 1447 (link: Wadding, Annales Minorum, tom XI, p. 280-283)


The pope entrusted St John of Capistrano with the task of enforcing the measures determined by his predecessors (Martin V and Eugene IV) to protect Christians from Jewish influence.


These measures include:
- a ban on commerce with the Jews ("Christiani cum Judaeis nulla commercia habere debent")

- Christians are not allowed to eat, drink or in any way live with Jews and Saracens (Arabs, Muslims).
This ban is supposed to last forever ("deinceps perpetuis futuris temporibus Christiani cum Judaeis aut Saracenis comedere, aut bibere, seu ipsos in convivia admittere, vel eis cohabitare, aut cum ipsis balneare... non debeant")

- a ban on the construction of new synagogues ("Judaei quoque Synagogas novas erigere, aut construi facere non audeant, sed antiquas duntaxat, non tamen ampliores, vel pretiosiores solito reficere valeant")

- Jews are not allowed to walk in public or open their doors and windows during Easter time ("in Lamentationum ac passionis Dominicae diebus per loca publica, seu publice non transeant, vel incedant, nec ostia vel fenestras teneant apertas")

- Jews and Saracens can't testify against Christians, while Christians are allowed to testify against Jews ("contra eos in quibusvis casibus Christiani testes esse possint, sed Judaeorum et Saracenorum contra Christianos in nullo casu testimonium valeat")

- Jews and Saracens are prohibited from having Christians servants ("nec possint Judaei et Saraceni nutricem, vel familiarem, aut servitorem utriusque sexus Christianum in domo tenere")

- Christians are prohibited from helping the Jews in the activities that they can't do during sabbath, i.e. you're not allowed to be a Shabbos goy!
("nec etiam Christiani in Sabbatis, seu Judaeorum festivitatibus, Judaeis ipsis ignem accedant, vel cibum, aut panem, seu quodcunque aliud opus servile ad decorum cultus festivitatum earumdem quomodolibet exhibeant, vel servitium, aut obsequium aliquod praestent, vel impendant")

- a special order to the secular authorities to punish the Jews and Saracens who blaspheme God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the saints
("saeculares quoque judices Christiani, Judaeos vel Saracenos Deum aut gloriosissimam B. Mariam Virginem ejus genitricem, vel aliquos sanctos blasphemantes, aut in hoc quomodolibet delinquentes, pecuniaria vel alia graviori, de qua videbitur, poena puniant")

- all Jews and Saracens, regardless of age, sex and class, have to wear distinctive clothes and a special sign
("omnes et singuli Judaei et Saraceni cujuscunque sexus et aetatis vel conditionis, distinctum habitum, ac notoria signa, per quae evidenter a Christianis cognosci possint, ubique deferant")

- Jews have to live in separate areas and not among Christians
("cum Christianis non habitent, sed segregati et separati inter se degant")

- an absolute ban on Jewish usury... + Jews have to return the profit made in that way
("a Christianis quoque usuras minime exigant, recipiant vel extorqueant, nec non extortas illis, a guibus extorserunt, protinus sine difficultate restituant")

- needless to say, intermarriage is forbidden









1450 DEBATE BETWEEN ST. JOHN OF CAPISTRANO AND THE CHIEF RABBI OF ROME, GAMALIEL
(Capistranus triumphans, p. 248-255)

John didn't want to leave Rome before his last victory over the perfidious Jews ("noluit a Roma discedere nisi prius contra perfidos triumpharet Judaeos").
He challenged the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Gamaliel, to a debate about religion and completely destroyed him.
By comparing various translations of the Holy Scripture, he proved to Gamaliel the truth of the Holy Trinity.

Gamaliel admits defeat and finally says: "Yes, I believe that Jesus is the son of God!" ("credo quia Jesus est filius Dei").
Rabbi Gamaliel and 40 other Jews converted to Christianity. John baptized them personally.






St. John of Capistrano spent the last few years of his life organizing a crusade against the Turks. He called almost all European rulers (from England to Poland) to join the crusade.

In May 1455, the Turks invaded Novo Brdo in Serbia. The Serbian despot, Đurađ Branković, and 50 000 Serbs took refuge in Hungary.

Here is a letter from St. John of Capistrano to the pope in which he described the fall of Novo Brdo and the unimaginable savagery of the Turks.
(see Wadding, Annales Minorum, tom. XII., p. 252-254).
John says that the Hungarian leaders, king Ladislaus V and János Hunyadi, can raise an army of about 30 000 men; other European leaders should send 70 000 soldiers.
John was convinced that 100 000 soldiers, under the leadership of János Hunyadi, were enough, not only to push the Turks out of Europe, but to invade the Middle East and reconquer Jerusalem.






St. John of Capistrano used his presence in Hungary to try to help Catholics in neighbouring Bosnia who were under immense pressure by the Serb despot Đurađ Branković and the Serb clergy.

Here is a letter from St. John of Capistrano to Pope Callixtus III (1455, July 4) in which he described how the Serb clergy forcefully converted Catholics to the Serbian schismatic faith and how the Serb clergy persecuted Franciscans in Bosnia.

The Patarens of Bosnia (incorrectly called "Bogumils" by some modern historians) were under the same pressure, but John notes that many of them would rather die than accept the "faith of the Serbs" ("multi moriuntur extra fidem, magis volentes extra fidem mori, quam eorum Rascianorum fidem suscipere").
(note: in medieval documents written in Latin the Serbs are usually referred to as "Rasciani", i.e. "Rašani").

John then describes the theological errors of the Serbian schismatic church.

Read more: http://traditionalcatholic.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=liturgysacramentsart&action=display&thread=295#ixzz2V6yTR8uQ