Many saints in the Catholic Church lived very short lives, many dying at the age of 24, while others dying when they were 15.
However, not all saints died young, as there are a group of saints who lived to an old age, serving the Church until their dying breath.
St. Raymond of Penyafort was one of those saints, living until he was 100 years old.
More than 50 years of service
St. Raymond was initially a lay professor of canon law, and was not part of any religious order, as the Catholic Encyclopedia explains:
He became professor of canon law in 1195, and taught for fifteen years. He left Spain for Bologna in 1210 to complete his studies in canon law. He occupied a chair of canon law in the university for three years and published a treatise on ecclesiastical legislation which still exists in the Vatican Library.
It wasn't until his mid-forties that he entered religious life and his responsibilities began to multiply, as Larry Peterson explains in an article for Aleteia:
Already an accomplished lawyer and scholar, Raymond joined the Dominicans in Barcelona in 1222. He was 47 years old. Raymond was a gifted preacher and was very successful at evangelizing.
In 1230, Pope Gregory IX made Raymond his confessor. During this time Raymond sorted and put in order all the decrees of popes and councils since 1150.
After serving as the Master General of the Dominican Order, St. Raymond was able to retire to a convent in Barcelona in 1240, when he was 65 years old.
However, he didn't truly "retire" and working and praying for the next 35 years, dying of old age at 100.
Sometimes saints have a short mission on earth, while others are called to remain on this earth for a century.
