Today is the Feast Day of St. Aloysius. St. Aloysius was born in Castiglione, Italy. He was destined for the military by his father, but by the age of 9 Aloysius had decided on a religious life. A kidney disease prevented St. Aloysius from a full social life for a while, so he spent his time in prayer and reading the lives of the saints. St. Aloysius kept up his many devotions and austerities, and was quite resolved to become a Jesuit. His family eventually moved back to Italy, where he taught catechism to the poor. When he was 18, he joined the Jesuits. He served in a hospital during the plague of 1587 in Milan, and died from it at the age of 23.
Aloysius Gonzaga was beatified only fourteen years after his death by Pope Paul V, on October 19, 1605, and on December 31, 1726, he was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII. Pope Benedict XIII also declared him to the patron saint of young students in 1729. In 1926, he was named patron of Christian youth by Pope Pius XI.
St. Aloysius High School is a predecessor to the current Brother Martin High School we know today.
