St. Josaphat

St. Josaphat (born John Kuncevyc, c. 1580 – 12 November 1623) was a Ruthenian of the eastern Slavic lands, born at Volodymyr in present-day Ukraine, then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became a monk of the Byzantine rite and, embracing the Union of Brest of 1596 by which many Ruthenian Orthodox had entered into full communion with Rome while keeping their Eastern liturgy, he devoted himself to renewing monastic life and promoting that unity. He was made archbishop of Polotsk in 1618.

A zealous and holy pastor, he worked to reform the clergy, catechize the people, and win the Orthodox to communion with the Catholic Church, but his efforts met fierce resistance from opponents of the union. In 1623, during a visitation to Vitebsk, a hostile mob attacked him and killed him, striking him down and casting his body into the river — he died forgiving his murderers. Beatified in 1643 and canonized in 1867, he was the first Eastern-rite saint formally canonized by Rome, honored as a martyr for Christian unity.