Every June 21, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Louis (Aloysius) Gonzaga (1568-1591), patron of Christian youth and protector of students; man with a huge heart, who, although he suffered misunderstandings and sorrows, never lost his cheerful disposition or his fighting spirit. He died very young, but he had an intense and happy life.
From a life of privilege…
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Saint Louis Gonzaga was born in 1568 in Castiglione delle Stiviere, Mantua (Italy), the first-born son of the heir couple of the principality of Castiglione. His mother, concerned about introducing him to the faith, consecrated him to the Virgin and had him baptized. While his father, a duke and successful career soldier, was only interested in the success and future glory for his first-born son, his heir.
Luis frequented barracks since he was a child, and although he learned the importance of courage and honor, he also acquired gestures considered vulgar and rude, inappropriate for the military lineage. In order to rectify those defects, his parents surrounded him with magnificent tutors and exemplary personalities. This is how at the age of thirteen he meets Bishop San Carlos Borromeo, who is impressed with his intelligence and good heart; Borromeo would later be the one who would give him First Communion and would become an inspiration for spiritual life.
Much of the environment that surrounded Louis – Lombard high society – was also characterized by reprehensible things: fraud, vice, crime and lust. Luis, who wanted to live as a good Christian in the middle of the court, submitted to constant penances and practices of piety. The young man was convinced that Christ did not have to be an obstacle to neglecting his social commitments. If there was something he deeply desired, it was to honor his parents, as indicated in the fourth commandment of the Law of God. At that time, his dreams were focused on a military career.
…to a much better life
When the time came, due to matters concerning his father, Luis had to travel to Spain. While visiting the Jesuit church in Madrid he heard a voice that spoke to his heart: “Luis, enter the Company of Jesus.”
What God asked of him could not be a coincidence, nor a youthful rapture. Luis, then, wanted his parents to be the first to find out that he wanted to be religious. The subsequent reactions were different. His mother took the news with joy, but his father became angry and refused to accept such a project. Luis made the decision to obey and honor his father’s will, so he remained at court.
Be one of those who accompany Jesus
Luis was not persuaded by trips or important positions. He wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to the service of Christ. So, in the end, his father had to give in.
In a letter sent to the general of the Jesuits, the Marquis of Castiglione, Don Ferrante Gonzaga, he wrote: “I am sending you what I love most in the world, a son in whom the whole family had placed their hopes.”
After these events, Luis entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus. He became a faithful and careful novice, observant of the rules and detached from all vanity. Having renounced being a marquis himself one day – he was the eldest of the brothers and it was his responsibility – he tested himself by exercising himself in the most humble jobs.
The blow he received when he found out that his father had died would be hard. However, Luis did not look back, and concentrated on comforting his mother and advising his brother, to whom he had transferred all of his rights.
Whoever loves God honors father and mother
At that time, the population of Rome was affected by an epidemic – the plague once again – and the Jesuits opened a hospital in which they themselves were in charge of caring for the sick. Luis was stationed there as a nurse. At the same time, he began to ask for alms, food and shelter for the hospital patients. Unfortunately, while serving the weakest, whom he loved with care, he contracted the disease that devastated them.
The young saint was able to recover from that illness, although he was affected by an intermittent fever that in the following months reduced him to a state of total fragility. Accompanied by his confessor, Saint Robert Bellarmine, Luis prepared himself for his imminent destiny: death.
With his gaze fixed on the crucifix and repeating the name of Jesus, Saint Louis Gonzaga left for the Father’s House at midnight on Body of Christ, on June 21, 1591, at 23 years of age. He loved God above all, and because he did so to the highest degree, he achieved holiness. And God is loved by loving those who He gave us as parents, as those who He gave us as neighbors. There is no higher way to honor those who gave us life than by loving God first and, at the same time, serving those who need us.
No crown, treasure, military victory, title or thing in this world is capable of equaling the glory of finding the gates of heaven open.
Saint Louis Gonzaga was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726, being declared ‘patron of youth’. Pope Pius XI ratified this patronage on June 13, 1926.
Epilogue: ripe fruit of the Church
‘Life is short’, it is often said; and so it was, literally, for San Luis Gonzaga.
His biographers agree in pointing out that the saint gratefully admitted that “the Lord had given him great fervor to help the poor,” and that this – the saint knew well – could be related to a prompt call: “When one has “than living a few years, God encourages him more to undertake such actions” (Saint Louis Gonzaga), referring to the exercise of charity.
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If you want to know a little more about Saint Louis Gonzaga, you can also read this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Luis_Gonzaga.
Central Editorial
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