The noble Jesuit

Today marks the death in 1591 of the Jesuit saint Aloysius de Gonzaga . The  first-born of a numerous  Italian aristocratic family . He grew up amid the violence and brutality of  the Renaissance and witnessed the murder of two of his brothers. He gave up his inherited wealth and privileged status to work in as a volunteer in Jesuit hospital i Rome  among the sick and dying of a major  epidemic. He became infected, and died aged 23 . The  mystic Carmelite , Maria Magdalena de Pazzi had a vision of him on 4 April 1600. She described him as radiant in glory because of his “interior works,” a hidden martyr for his great love of God. For his compassion and courage , Aloysius has become a patron saint of  epidemic suffers and their carers.