Aloysius, Saint

Aloysius, Saint ălōĭˈshəs [key], 1568–91, Italian Jesuit, b. Luigi Gonzaga, heir to the marchese de Castiglione. Highly devout from childhood, he renounced his title and entered (1585) the Society of Jesus under the tutelage of St. Robert Bellarmine. He died of a fever he caught while ministering to victims of the plague. He is the patron of youth. St. Aloysius has been especially extolled for his purity. Feast: June 21.

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