Saint of the Day: St. Ignatius of Laconi

Religious (1701-1781)

His life

+ Vincenzo Peis was born in Laconi, Italy. The son of a poor family of farmers, he grew up working it the fields. When he was 17, he became gravely ill and promised to become a Franciscan if his life was spared.

+ Although he recovered, his family convinced him to wait, but after he was almost killed when a horse he was riding bolted, he decided it was time to fulfill his promise. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in Buoncammino, Italy, professing vows as a lay brother in 1722.

+ After working for fifteen years weaving cloth for his community, he then began a new form of service as the community’s questor, going from house to house begging for food and donations for the friars. This allowed him to begin to serve the broader community, caring for the sick and poor, helping to reconcile enemies, and offering advice and comfort to the suffering.

+ Saint Ignatius of Laconi died in Cagliari, Italy, on May 11, 1781, and was canonized in 1951.

For prayer and reflection:

“I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and all the families of the earth will find blessing in you”—Genesis 12:2-3

Spiritual bonus

On this day, we remember the martyrs Blessed James Walworth and Blessed John Rochester. These two priests were Carthusian monks in the London Charterhouse. Because of their refusal to acknowledge King Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church in England, they were martyred on May 11, 1536, in York, England. They were beatified in 1886.

Prayer

O God, who led Saint Ignatius to the height of holiness along paths of humility, innocence and charity toward others, grant that, by imitating his virtues, we may put charity on earth into practice, in deeds and in truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Capuchin Missal: A Supplement to the Roman Missal Third Edition)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.