John Cantius was born in Kęty, a small town near Oświęcim, Poland, to Anna and Stanisław Kanty.

[2] While there, he was offered a professorship of Sacra Scriptura (Holy Scripture) back at his alma mater, the Kraków Academy, which would later be named the Jagiellonian University.

Cantius spent many hours copying manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures, theological tracts, and other scholarly works.

[3] Ninety-one years after his beatification, John Cantius was canonized on 16 July 1767, by Pope Clement XIII.

A number of churches and schools founded by Polish diaspora communities throughout North America are named in his honor, in cities as far-ranging as Cleveland, Ohio; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Rolling Prairie, Indiana, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; St.