Alphonsus Rodriguez
Saint Alphonsus Rodríguez Society of Jesus) | |
---|---|
Beatified | 5 June 1825 by Pope Leo XII |
Canonized | 15 January 1888 by Pope Leo XIII |
Major shrine | Jesuit College Palma, Majorca, Spain |
Feast | October 31[1] |
Alphonsus Rodríguez, SJ (
Life and work
Rodríguez was the son of a wool merchant. When Peter Faber, one of the original Jesuits, visited the city to preach, the Rodríguez family provided hospitality to the Jesuit. Faber prepared the young Rodríguez for his First Communion.[2]
At the age of twelve, Rodríguez was sent to the new Jesuit college at Alcalá,
Previous associations had brought him into contact with the first Jesuits who had come to Spain, Peter Faber among others, but it was apparently impossible to carry out his purpose of entering the Society as he was without education, having only an incomplete year at a new college begun at Alcalá by Francis Villanueva. At the age of 39 he attempted to make up this deficiency by following the course at the College of Barcelona, but without success. His austerities had also undermined his health. After considerable delay he was finally admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother on 31 January 1571, at the age of 40.[5] The provincial is supposed to have said that if Alphonsus was not qualified to become a brother or a priest, he could enter to become a saint.[2]
Distinct novitiates for seminarians and lay brothers had not yet been established in Spain, and Rodríguez began his term of probation at
The bodily
He had a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially as the Immaculate Conception, and would produce copies of the complete text of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the private recitation of people who asked. He reportedly was favored with mystical graces, ecstasies and visions of our Lord, our Lady and the saints.[3]
Rodríguez became very feeble when he reached his eighties and in his last months his memory began to fail. He was not even able to remember his favourite prayers.[7] He died on 31 October 1617.[8]
He left a considerable number of manuscripts after him, some of which have been published as Obras Espirituales del B. Alonso Rodríguez (Barcelona, 1885, 3 vols., octavo, complete edition, 8 vols. in quarto). They are sometimes only reminiscences of domestic exhortations, the texts are often repeated, the illustrations are from everyday life, and the treatment of one virtue occasionally entrenches upon another. They were not written with a view to publication, but put down by Rodríguez himself, or dictated to others, in obedience to a positive command of his superiors.[5]
Veneration
Alphonsus Rodriguez was declared
In 1760, Pope Clement XIII decreed that "the virtues of the Venerable Alonso were proved to be of a heroic degree", but the expulsion of the Society from Spain in 1773, and its suppression, delayed his beatification until 5 June 1825. His canonization took place on 15 January 1888. His remains are enshrined at Majorca.
Legacy
Though his life was punctuated with personal tragedies and disappointments, he had a decided influence on the people he met. He served with such love that the act of opening the door became for him a sacramental gesture.[9]
There is a parish dedicated to Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez in Woodstock, Maryland.[10]
Rodríguez is the subject of a sonnet by fellow-Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins, In honour of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez.[11]
See also
- Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, patron saint archive
References
- ^ "The Jesuit Institute - Jesuit Liturgcal Calendar".
- ^ a b Martin SJ, James. "The Catholic Brothers and St. Alphonsus Rodriguez", America, October 28, 2010
- ^ a b "St. Alphonsus Rodriguez" Jesuits, global
- ISBN 978-0-8294-2806-3
- ^ a b c d Campbell, Thomas. "St. Alphonsus Rodriguez." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 2 Apr. 2013
- ^ ""Jesuit Family Album", Fairfield University". Archived from the original on 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ^ "Alfonso Rodriguez", Jesuit Brothers". Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7
- ^ Murphy fscc, Kathleen. "AdJUSTment Year of Faith October Focus: Alphonsus Rodriguez", Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, October 23, 2012
- ^ "St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Catholic Church, Woodstock, Maryland". Archived from the original on 2017-11-06. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ^ Hopkins SJ, Gerard Manley. In Honour of St. Alphonsus Rodiguez
Bibliography
- Holweck, F. G., A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.