Jadwiga I of Poland
Queen of Poland (1384–1399)
Feast: 17 July (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Jadwiga was born at Buda in 1374 into the Angevin dynasty that then ruled Hungary. On coming of age she set aside the betrothal to William of Habsburg arranged when she was four, and on 18 February 1386, after long inner struggle and prayer before the crucifix of Wawel, she married the Lithuanian grand duke Jagiełło, who promised to be baptised with his whole nation, the last pagan people in Europe, and to unite it with Poland.
That marriage changed the history of Europe and made the Queen of Poland one of the great figures in its evangelisation.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A young queen who gave up her own wishes for a marriage that brought a whole nation to Christ.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Edwige di Polonia (Jadwiga)
- Wikidata Q53449 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Jadwiga of Poland (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.