A Catholic among Lutherans – Catherine Jagiellon in the light of Feliks Skarżyński’s funeral sermon

Abstract

ABSTRACT Catherine Jagiellon died in Stockholm in September of 1583. Before her funeral in Sweden, a mourning ceremony was organized for her in Poland. This funeral sermon, entitled Kazanie na obsequiach żałobnych królewny Katarzyny Jagiełłówny and pronounced by Father Feliks Skarżyński, has not yet been subject to a thorough analysis by scholars investigating the life of the Swedish queen. The present paper studies the content of the sermon, concentrating on Catherine Jagiellon’s religious devotion, as she remained a fervent Catholic even after marrying John Vasa, himself a Lutheran.