Aloysius Gonzaga
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Aloysius de Gonzaga (
Early life
Gonzaga was born the eldest of eight children, at his family's castle in
As the first-born son, he was in line to inherit his father's title and status of Marquis.[1] His father assumed that Gonzaga would become a soldier, as that was the norm for sons of the aristocracy and the family was often involved in the minor wars of the period. As early as age four, Luigi was given a set of miniature guns and accompanied his father on training expeditions so that the boy might learn "the art of arms".[2] At age five, Gonzaga was sent to a military camp to get started on his training. His father was pleased to see his son marching around camp at the head of a platoon of soldiers. His mother and his tutor were less pleased with the vocabulary he picked up there.[3]
He grew up amid the violence and brutality of Renaissance Italy and witnessed the murder of two of his brothers.[1][clarification needed]
In 1576, at age 8, he was sent to
Gonzaga returned to Castiglione where he met
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The family was called to Spain in 1581 to assist
In July 1584, a year and a half after the Infante's death, the family returned to Italy. Gonzaga still wanted to become a
Religious life
In November 1585, Gonzaga gave up all rights of inheritance, which was confirmed by the emperor. He went to Rome and, because of his noble birth, gained an audience with Pope Sixtus V. Following a brief stay at the Palazzo Aragona Gonzaga, the Roman home of his cousin, Cardinal Scipione Gonzaga, on 25 November 1585 he was accepted into the Society of Jesus in Rome.[6] During this period, he was asked to moderate his asceticism somewhat and to be more social with the other novices.
Gonzaga's health continued to cause problems. He was sent to
In 1591, a plague broke out in Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital for the stricken, and Gonzaga volunteered to work there.[7] After begging alms for the victims, Gonzaga began working with the sick, carrying the dying from the streets into a hospital founded by the Jesuits. There he washed and fed the plague victims, preparing them as best he could to receive the sacraments. But though he threw himself into his tasks, he privately confessed to his spiritual director, Robert Bellarmine, that his constitution was revolted by the sights and smells of the work; he had to work hard to overcome his physical repulsion.
At the time, many of the younger Jesuits had become infected with the disease, and so Gonzaga's superiors forbade him from returning to the hospital. But Gonzaga—long accustomed to refusals from his father—persisted and requested permission to return, which was granted. Eventually he was allowed to care for the sick, but only at another hospital, called Our Lady of Consolation, where those with contagious diseases were not admitted. While there, Gonzaga was infected. He grew ill and was bedridden by 3 March 1591, a few days before his 23rd birthday.
Gonzaga declined for many weeks. It seemed certain that he would die in a short time, and he was given
Veneration
Gonzaga was buried in the Church of the Most Holy Annunciation, which later became the
Patronage
In 1729, Pope Benedict XIII declared Aloysius de Gonzaga to be the
.Aloysius Gonzaga is also celebrated in a small south Italy town called Alezio, as a patron of the town, celebrated on June 21.
Iconography
In art, Gonzaga is shown as a young man wearing a black
Legacy
Saint Aloysius'
Being the patron saint of youth and students and because of his service to others as a young adult, several schools and colleges are named after Aloysius Gonzaga. Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania and Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, are a few examples.[15]
See also
- Catholic Church in Italy
- List of Catholic saints
- St. Aloysius (disambiguation)
- Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, patron saint archive
References
- ^ a b c "Who is Aloysius Gonzaga?". Gonzaga University. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ a b Martin, James, S.J. (20 June 2011). "The Life of Times of St. Aloysius Gonzaga". America. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ISBN 978-0-8294-1505-6.
- ^ a b c O'Conor, John Francis Xavier (1907). St. Aloysius Gonzaga. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Coulson, John. "The Saints: A Concise Biographical Dictionary".
- ^ a b c "Finding God Amid Disease: The Story of St. Aloysius Gonzaga", Gonzaga University
- ^ "Saint Aloysius Gonzaga", Franciscan Media
- ^ Cepari, Virgil, S.J. (1891). Life of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. New York: Benziger Brothers. p. 232.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Craughwell, Thomas J. "Patron Saints for Modern Challenges". St. Anthony Messenger. American Catholic. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ "Aloysius Gonzaga". Gonzaga College, Dublin. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ISBN 9780140390346.
- ^ Fabrini, Placido (1852). The Life of St Mary Magdalen De-Pazzi.
- ^ "St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the patron saint of AIDS patients, died helping plague victims". 21 June 2017.
- ^ Nieden, Felix zur (12 July 2011). "Der Fußball-Heilige wacht über die St.-Joseph-Kirche in Schalke". WAZ. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ Vergara, Matt (9 September 2016). "St. Aloysius School in Spokane celebrates 100 years". KREM2 News. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
External links
Media related to Aloisio Gonzaga at Wikimedia Commons
- O'Conor, Joseph, F.X. (1891). Life of St Aloysius Gonzaga, of the Society of Jesus. New York: St. Francis College.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)