May 11 - St. Ignatius of Laconi
Born: 1701
Died: 1781
Nationality: Italian
Vocation: Capuchin lay brother
Patronage: Oristan, Students, Beggars
Canonization: Pope Pius XII in 1951
Ignatius was raised by a poor family as the second of seven children. His path to joining the Capuchin monks was unusual. Once when he got sick as a boy of seventeen, he promised God that if he got better he would enter the order. Though Ignatius recovered, he was convinced not to enter because of his young age. Later, God saved him from a run-away horse. Ignatius knew that it was a sign and he set out to enter the order at once.
Ignatius never had any high position in the order. He worked in the weaving shed for 15 years and spent his time praying and working for his community. He then became one of the traditional beggars of the community, a role he fulfilled for 40 years. He consoled the sick, visited the lonely, and endeared himself to the community.
There was one house, however, that Ignatius refused to visit. The prior received a complaint, and sent Ignatius to the house. He accepted a donation, a bag full of food, and returned back to the monastery. When the bag was empty, blood dripped out. "This is the blood of the poor," Ignatius explained softly. "That is why I never ask for anything at that house." The man was a moneylender and extorted the poor. The monastery began to pray for his conversion.
After a life of humble service and devotion, Ignatius died at the age of 80. He was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1951.