The young Spanish nobleman had the world at his feet.
He had riches, a renowned family, a noble name. He had education and opportunity. He was a page of the King. He had a glorious future ahead of him among the most prestigious personages in the kingdom.
But it wasn’t enough.
Aloysius desired a pearl of far greater worth than any worn at the royal court. A pearl that belonged to a heavenly Kingdom.
This pearl would cost all his earthly possessions. Indeed, it would claim his whole life. But he gave it willingly, joyfully, bravely.
Aloysius Gonzaga was born in 1568 to a powerful noble family in Castiglione, Spain. Of a profoundly pious disposition, he practiced a life of intense prayer and mortification even from childhood. He studied in Italy and received his First Communion from St. Charles Borromeo.
At the age of thirteen he was sent to the court of Philip II in Spain, where he was a true lily among thorns. Amidst the corruption and immorality of court life, he was untouched by it, persevering heroically in virtue, prayer, and sanctity.
As a young man of nobility, he was expected to follow a life of worldly accomplishment. But he had other ideas—he wanted to join the Jesuits!
