Today, June 21, is the memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.
Aloysius was born in 1568 to Italian aristocrats. He was trained from age four as a soldier and courtier, as he was expected to inherit his father privileged status. He lived in Renaissance Italy, a time of violence, blood, and savagery. The effect was too much for Aloysius.
He suffered from kidney disease. Instead of sadness, Aloysius felt blessedness for his sickness. It meant being bed-ridden, and being bed-ridden meant more time for prayer.
In 1580, Aloysius met the holy cardinal St. Charles Borromeo, from whom the young boy received his First Communion. A book about the Jesuit missionaries in India inspired Aloysius to join the Society of Jesus.
At age 18, he gave up his legal claims to his family’s vast wealth and tracts of land, and joined the Jesuits. He became a spiritual student of St. Robert Bellarmine.
True to the missionary spirit, Aloysius worked tirelessly during the plague that swept through Europe in 1591. He took care of plague victims in Italy. He eventually contracted the disease that left him dead at age 23.
Pope Paul V beatified Aloysius in 1605. The Servant of God Pope Benedict XIII canonized him in 1726.