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St
ALOYSIUS GONZAGA |
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Feast Day: June 21
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Also known as
- Aluigi Gonzaga; Luigi Gonzaga
Profile -
Italian noble who grew up in a castle, the son of a
compulsive gambler. Cousin of Saint
Rudolph Acquaviva. Trained from age four as a
soldier and
courtier. Suffered from
kidney disease which he considered a blessing as it left him
bed-ridden with time for prayer. While still a
boy himself, he
taught
catechism to
poor
boys. Received First
Communion from Saint
Charles Borromeo. At age 18 he signed away his legal claim to his
family's lands and title to his brother, and became a
Jesuit
novice. Spiritual student of Saint
Robert Bellarmine. Tended
plague victims in
Rome in the outbreak of
1591.
- Born
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9 March
1568 at castle of Castiglione delle Stivieri in Montau,
Lombardy,
Italy
- Died
- 20-21 June
1591 at
Rome of
plague,
fever, and desire to see God;
relics entombed under the altar of Saint Ignatius Church,
Rome
- Beatified
-
19 October
1605
Pope
Paul V (cultus
confirmed)
1621 by
Pope
Gregory XV
- Canonized
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31 December
1726 by
Pope
Benedict XIII
- Patronage
-
AIDS care-givers;
AIDS patients;
Catholic youth;
Jesuit students;
relief from pestilence;
sore eyes;
teenage children;
teenagers;
young people
- Prayers
- Prayer
of Self-Commendation to Mary
Prayer to...
- Images
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Gallery of images of Saint Aloysius
- Readings
- There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the
number of the elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same
time a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials.
- Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
He who wishes to love God does not truly love Him if he has not an
ardent and constant desire to suffer for His sake.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
O Holy Mary! My Mother; into thy blessed trust and special custody,
and into the bosom of thy mercy, I this day, and every day, and in the
hour of my death, commend my soul and body. To thee I commit all my
anxieties and sorrows, my life and the end of my life, that by they most
holy intercession, and by thy merits, all my actions may be directed and
governed by thy will and that of thy Son.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
May the comfort and grace of the
Holy Spirit be yours for ever, most honored lady. Your letter found
me lingering still in this region of the dead, but now I must rouse
myself to make my way on to heaven at last, and to praise God for ever
in the land of the living; indeed I had hoped that before this time my
journey there would have been over. If charity, as Saint Paul says,
means "to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who are glad,"
then, dearest mother, you shall rejoice exceedingly that God in his
grace and his love for you is showing me the path to true happiness, and
assuring me that I shall never lose him.
Take care above all things, most honored lady, not to insult God's
boundless loving kindness; you would certainly do this if you mourned as
dead one living face to face with God, one whose prayers can bring you
in your troubles more powerful aid than they ever could on earth. And
our parting will not be for long; we shall see each other again in
heaven; we shall be united with our Savior; there we shall praise him
with heart and soul, sing of his mercies for ever, and enjoy eternal
happiness.
from a letter to his mother by Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
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