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Aloysius
was born in Italy in the sixteenth century. The first words
he uttered was “Jesus” and “Mary” which
was not much appreciated by his father, a wealthy, compulsive
gambler prone to fits of rage. He had high hopes for Aloysius,
his first born son, as heir to the family fortune and began
training the boy as a soldier and courtier at the tender age
of four. He was strongly opposed to the religious life Aloysius
aspired to but eventually conceeded when he caught his son in
the bloody act of self-flagellation and transferred the inheritance
to his other son Ridolfo. Aloysius was a frail child with weak
kidneys who feared women. It was said that he never looked into
a woman’s eyes, including his own mother. He taught the
way of the Church to impoverished youth and joined the Jesuits
when he was eighteen. When he was twenty-three he went to Rome
to nurse plague victims but became stricken himself. He died
soon after whispering the name “Jesus.” He’s
also the patron of AIDS care-givers, Catholic youth,
Jesuit students and teenagers; and he’s invoked against
pestilence and sore eyes. His feast day is June 21. |
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| St.
Aloysius
Patron St. of
People with AIDS |
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