ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA:
Patron of Catholic Youth
1568 – 1591
June 21
St. Aloysius had certainly lived up to his motto: “I was born for greater things.” At the same time he had fulfilled his father’s ambition for him to be brave and honored but not in the way he intended.
On June 21, St. Aloysius’ feast day the Church prays: “O God, author of all heavenly gifts, You gave Saint Aloysius both a wonderful innocence of life and a deep spirit of penance. Through his merits grant that we may imitate his penitence.”
He is one of the most venerated of modern saints especially for his intense love of chastity and his all-absorbing love for God.