August 31 | Saint Raymond Nonnatus

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine being born by emergency surgery involving a dagger. Imagine giving up a massive wealthy fortune to rescue hundreds of hostages in foreign lands. And finally, imagine being thrown into a dungeon where your enemies literally padlock your mouth shut to stop you from speaking.

Sounds completely wild, right? Well, this is the story of Saint Raymond Nonnatus. Let's start at the very beginning. The year is 1204, and our saint is born in Spain. But his birth was an absolute tragedy and a miracle all rolled into one. Tragically, Raymond's mother died while she was in labor with him. In a desperate, split-second decision to save his unborn son, his father used a dagger to open her womb and safely deliver the baby.

Because of this incredibly dramatic entrance into the world, he was given the title nonnatus, which in Latin literally translates to not born. So, right from day one, Raymond's life was marked by incredible circumstances. His father was a wealthy man who owned a bunch of farms, and he fully intended for Raymond to take over the family business and manage the land. But Raymond? He wasn't interested in farming or building a massive estate. His favorite thing to do was to slip away into quiet, solitary places just to pray.

Eventually, his dad realized that his son was never going to be the farm manager he wanted him to be, and he gave Raymond his blessing to follow his calling. Raymond decided to enter a religious community known as the Mercedarians, or the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.

This is where the story shifts from a quiet life of prayer to real-life action hero status. In the 1200s, there was a massive crisis. Many Christians were being captured by the Moors and sold into slavery. Raymond was ordained as a priest in 1224, and he didn't just sit around. Remember that wealthy estate he owned? He sold his entire estate and used the cash to buy the freedom of 233 enslaved Christians.

But he was just getting started. Two years later, in 1226, he packed up and traveled across the sea to North Africa, where he tracked down and freed another 140 slaves. Then, three years after that, he went back again with another Mercedarian priest and successfully freed 228 more people. Think about that. He was constantly risking his own life, traveling deep into dangerous territory. Just to rescue people.

In 1236, Raymond made his most dangerous trip to North Africa yet, but this time, the situation was different. He had run out of money and couldn't pay for any more captives. So, what did he do? He did the bravest thing imaginable. He offered himself as a hostage so that others could go free. He surrendered himself and was thrown into intense persecution.

But Raymond wasn't going to just sit quietly in a dark cell. While in prison, he boldly started preaching. He was so passionate and so fearless that his captors realized they had to shut him up. To stop his preaching, his captors took hot iron and seared a hole straight through his upper and lower lips. Then they slipped a padlock through the holes and locked his mouth shut. This brutal padlock stayed on his lips for eight agonizing months until his ransom was finally paid.

After he was finally freed, he returned home. Sadly, he died at the young age of 36 on August 31, 1240, and he was buried at the very same chapel where he loved to sneak away and pray when he was just a teenager. In 1657, Pope Alexander VII officially recognized him as a saint. If you ever see a painting or a statue of him, you might spot him holding a martyr's palm branch, a monstrance. Or wearing a cardinal's red cape, called a mozetta.

St. Raymond Nonnatus is the patron saint of pregnant women, childbirth, and newborn infants. And because of the literal padlock that was placed on his lips to silence him, he is also the patron saint of priests who defend the seal of confession, meaning priests who uphold their vow, refusing to reveal what people tell them in the confessional, no matter what.

You make choices every single day about how you use your words. St. Raymond was willing to suffer torture rather than stop speaking the truth, and he was willing to suffer in silence to protect others. Today, your challenge is this. Use your words bravely. If you see someone getting bullied in the hallway or online, be bold enough to speak up for them. Don't be afraid to talk about your faith, even if people think it's weird. And, on the flip side, practice the discipline of the padlock.

If a friend trusts you with a secret, keep it safe. Refuse to gossip. Let your words mean something, and don't let fear silence you. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.