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The saints

St. Josaphat

An Eastern Catholic archbishop who died working for unity.

Feast: 12 November · about 1580 to 1623 · Reformation and missions · Ukraine and Belarus

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Icon of St. Josaphat in a dark monk’s hood and robe on a gold background.

Unknown author. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Home / The saints / St. Josaphat

Vitebsk, 1623

Josaphat was a monk of the Byzantine tradition in what is now Ukraine and Belarus.1

He worked for the union of his Church with Rome, keeping its Eastern liturgy and customs.1

As archbishop of Polotsk, he faced fierce opposition.

Patronage No official patronage we can cite yet. The Church remembers him as a martyr for unity between Eastern Christians and Rome.

01St. Josaphat

Martyr of unity

In 1623 a mob in Vitebsk attacked and killed him.1

He was the first Eastern saint canonized by Rome in modern times.1

Live it this week

Pray at an Eastern Catholic liturgy

Josaphat died for unity with the Eastern Churches. Find a Byzantine, Maronite or Ukrainian Catholic parish near you and go to their Divine Liturgy this week or next.

Notes

How we know · 1 source for this page
  1. Franciscan Media, Saint of the Day: “Saint Josaphat”. franciscanmedia.org. franciscanmedia.org

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain); Verse numbers are modern, with Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.