Just several blocks from the nation's capitol building are located contiguously to each other the parish of St. Aloysius and the Jesuit High School, Gonzaga. This young man was born in the 16th century. He was the son of royalty. "Castiglione" is his family name. Aloysius is an Italian Jesuit saint. He died at a youthful age of 23.
His family was recognized for its wealth and power. His father wanted Aloysius to follow in his princely footsteps and ultimately to become a marquis like himself. The father sent his son to be trained in the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco de' Medici. From there he moved to Madrid where he served in the Court of Philip II.
But there was a yearning in his heart that would not abate. He felt the calling to be a priest. Ignatius Loyola was his inspiration. Consequently "Luigi," as he was called, desired nothing more than to walk in the steps of Ignatius and the other early Jesuits. Shortly thereafter Aloysius was accepted into the Society of Jesus. His Jesuit vocation was not to last all that long. Luigi also felt called to help the poor and needy of his time. His early years in the Jesuits happened to be at the same time as the Plague that was devastating so much of western Europe. Because there were sick and dying men, women and children, this son of Gonzaga secured permission to work the streets, helping the sick and dying. As a result of this, Luigi himself became a victim of the dreaded disease.
Luigi was given spiritual direction by another well-know Jesuit of the early years of the Society: Father Robert Bellarmine whom we have come to know as St. Robert Bellarmine.
My reason for taking the time to put some history around the person is this: Aloysius was declared to be the universal patron of youth by Pope Benedict XIII. Many of you may not be the parent of a young man but you may have grandsons or nephew or neighborhood boys who you sense would be a great help to our Church as a priest, even, perhaps, as a Jesuit priest. If you know such a young man, take the time to introduce him to Aloysius. You may not have a life of this noble young man, but you can direct a young man to the Internet to find out about St Aloysius Gonzaga. You will have done that young man a terrific service should he follow you up on this suggestion you have offered him. We can remember these words of the saint.
It is better to be a child of God than king of the universe.
NB This is the 900th posting for Prayer on the Hill that is added to its predecessor where there were 852 postings. Together the total is 1751 postings or 4.97 years of blogs that demand about 1 hour and 45 minutes for each posting. That equals 183,855 minutes to bring us where we are. That many minutes equals 3,064.25 hours!
