One of the patrons of youth,
St Aloysius Gonzaga was an Italian Jesuit saint of the 16th century. Quite a
few Jesuit colleges are named after him, including Gonzaga University in
Spokane, Washington and St Aloysius College, in Malta. Aloysius is the Latin form
of his given name, Luigi, in English known as Louis. Aloysius Gonzaga was born
at Castiglione near Mantua, Italy, in 1568 to a celebrated family of wealth and
prestige. As the first born son of his father, Ferrante, and his mother, Marta,
he was in line to inherit his father's title of Marquis. He grew up amid the
violence and brutality of the Renaissance Italy and witnessed the murder of two
of his brothers. In 1576, Aloysius' parents sent him to attend the court of the
Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco de Medici, in Florence. Later, accompanied by
his parents, he traveled to Spain to join the court of Philip II in Madrid.
In Spain, Aloysius decided he
wanted to join the newly founded religious order, the Society of Jesus. His
father resisted his decision and there followed a struggle of wills that
continued after his return to Castiglione in 1584. But Aloysius eventually
prevailed. Renouncing his right to the title of Marquis and to the vast wealth
he was destined to inherit, he entered the Society of Jesus in Rome on November
25, 1585. During his early studies in Rome, he would regularly go out into the
streets of the city to care for victims of the plague. He himself contracted
the disease as a result of his efforts for the suffering and died on June 21,
1591, at the age of twenty-three, six years short of his ordination as a Jesuit
priest.
Even before his time as a Jesuit, Aloysius was known for his love of prayer and fasting. He received his First Communion from St. Charles Borromeo. As a Jesuit at the Roman College, he continued to devote his time to prayer and practices of austerity. His spiritual director was St. Robert Bellarmine who later was canonized and declared a doctor of the church. When Robert was dying, he asked to be buried next to the grave of Aloysius. Today, they rest next to each other in the church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Rome. Pope Benedict XIII canonized Aloysius in 1726, and three years later declared him to be the patron of youth in the Catholic Church, an honor later confirmed by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Gonzaga University in Spokane is the only Jesuit university in the world named after St. Aloysius.
Even before his time as a Jesuit, Aloysius was known for his love of prayer and fasting. He received his First Communion from St. Charles Borromeo. As a Jesuit at the Roman College, he continued to devote his time to prayer and practices of austerity. His spiritual director was St. Robert Bellarmine who later was canonized and declared a doctor of the church. When Robert was dying, he asked to be buried next to the grave of Aloysius. Today, they rest next to each other in the church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Rome. Pope Benedict XIII canonized Aloysius in 1726, and three years later declared him to be the patron of youth in the Catholic Church, an honor later confirmed by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Gonzaga University in Spokane is the only Jesuit university in the world named after St. Aloysius.
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