Alphonsus Rodriguez

Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez was born on July 25, 1532, in Spain, the son of a wool merchant. As a boy he encountered the early Jesuits when Saint Peter Faber visited his city and even prepared him for First Communion. Though he began studies at a Jesuit college, family duties drew him home after his father’s death. He married María Suarez and had three children, but within a few years his wife and two children died, and later he lost his last child as well. These sorrows opened his heart to a life of prayer, penance, and total surrender to God. Lacking education and weakened by austerity, he still persevered in his desire to join the Society of Jesus and was finally received as a lay brother in 1571. Sent to Mallorca, he served for forty-six years as the college porter, greeting each visitor as though Christ Himself were at the door. His humble counsel shaped countless lives, including Saint Peter Claver. Deeply devoted to the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was revered for holiness and mystical prayer. He is a patron of Mallorca. Saint Alphonsus died on October 31, 1617; his feast day is October 31.