Saint of the day October 30: Saint Alonso Rodríguez. Catholic Saints

Every October 30, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Alonso Rodríguez, a Jesuit coadjutor brother who lived between the 16th and 17th centuries, an example of humility and vocation to service. There is some controversy about his first name, since in numerous civil and ecclesial sources it appears as “Alfonso”. The use of both names is generally accepted.

Don Alonso, before becoming religious, was a family man: he was married and had three children. When he was around 40 years old, various circumstances caused his life to take a completely different course – one that would lead him to become part of the Society of Jesus. In that sense, Alonso is, in addition to being an example of humility as he will have to show, a model of listening to the Spirit and trust in the Lord.

The greatest pain: when everything seems lost

Saint Alonso Rodríguez was born in Segovia, Spain, in 1531, into a family of merchants. At the age of 26 he married Mrs. María Suárez, with whom he had three children.

A few years before marrying he had taken over the family business, when his father, a wool merchant, gave it to him as an inheritance. Alonso did his best to carry out the assignment, but without much success. In this already difficult context, he lost first his two oldest children and then his wife, who died giving birth to their third child. Unfortunately, that baby would not survive either: after being placed in the care of two of his aunts, the child fell ill and also died.

Renaissance

Alonso, then, was left alone, without what had been the driving force of his life: his family. Providentially, in those days of forced solitude and silence, he began to remember his childhood and how his parents, in those times, had received priests and members of the then newly founded Company of Jesus into their home.

The now widower felt moved to return to that stage that, like a seed on which water falls after time, seemed to come to life unexpectedly: it was the faith that he never abandoned, but from which he had been a little elusive.

That faith seemed fertilized by pain, but it pointed out renewed and hopeful horizons. Alonso then decided to get closer to God, encouraged by the consolation that the Lord granted for his unspeakable pain. He began to attend the sacraments regularly and to have a life of penitence and prayer, completely returning to the piety that marked him as a child and that was now a source of strength.

Saint Peter Faber and the seeds of God

Alonso constantly remembered Pedro Fabro, co-founder of the Jesuits and whom he had met at the age of 12, when he was staying for a time in his parents’ house. Fabro was a man who radiated affability and strength. He had also suffered, like him, but he never perceived him as dejected.

Thus, the image of the Jesuit moved him to be less and less involved in pain and to live more in the face of the faith that marked him. Suddenly, participating in the work of the Jesuits, Alonso began to see his life differently, little by little, with more hope. He discovered that God still expected a lot from him and that he could be completely renewed. Thus he began to consider putting himself at the service of God and the Church as a religious.

The heart matters, not the age, nor the job

Alonso then requests to be admitted to the Society of Jesus. However, the Jesuits, in the first instance, did not accept it for several reasons. Among them, his age – he was over forty years old -, his poor health and lack of advanced studies – a requirement for the Jesuit priesthood -. Despite this, the saint did not give up. He maintained the hope of being admitted, reminding everyone how Saint Ignatius of Loyola was not deterred by his age from becoming religious.

Finally, the provincial of the Jesuits accepted him as a lay brother in 1571. After finishing the novitiate, he was sent to the school of Nuestra Señora de Montesión in Palma de Mallorca, where he was given the position of porter, a position he would hold for 32 years.

A young missionary at the door

Saint Alonso Rodríguez made his position as goalkeeper a true service to others and a permanent occasion for sanctification.

From the convent’s entrance hall he established dialogue with many people, among whom was none other than San Pedro Claver (1580-1654), at the time, a student at the Montesión school. It is said that Saint Alonso enthused and encouraged Peter to travel to America one day. As is known, Pedro was the holy protector of slaves in Cartagena de Indias, in America. Because of those things of God, both Jesuits would be canonized the same year, 1888.

Prayer is capable of opening all doors

Alonso took advantage of the hours of work in the goal to pray. In fact, one of his favorite prayers was the Holy Rosary, which he prayed several times a day. Alonso even had visions of Heaven and the Virgin Mary, who appeared to him to listen to him and give him comfort – the saint entrusted himself to Her to protect him from evil -: if on any occasion he fell prey to temptation, Alonso would pass by to the image of the Virgin and said: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, remember me” (Holy Mary, Mother of God, remember me).

Saint Alonso was once asked why he was not harsher and harsher with the annoying people who used to come to school to knock on the door. He responded: “We can never treat Jesus, who disguises himself as a neighbor, with harshness or rudeness.”

Saint Alonso Rodríguez left for the Father’s House on October 31, 1617. He is considered an example of the spirituality of the Jesuit Coadjutor Brothers.

Patronages and canonization

In 1633, the General Council of Mallorca appointed him as patron of the island. Pope Clement XIII decreed in 1760 that “the virtues of the venerable Alonso had been proven to be of a heroic degree.” However, the suppression of the Jesuits in Spain and its kingdoms in 1773 stopped the beatification process.

Finally on May 25, 1825 by Alonso Rodriguez he was beatified by Pope Leo XII. On January 15, 1888 he was canonized by Pope Leo XIII.

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If you want to know more about the life of this great Spanish saint, you can consult the following article in the Catholic Encyclopedia (the Encyclopedia entry calls him ‘Alfonso’): https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Alfonso_Rodriguez,_San