Abbey-Roads2

Don Marco has a sublime post on St. Aloysius Gonzaga, one of my favorite saints, and his.  Therese was pretty fond of him as well.

Father refers to him as the patron saint of schoolboys - which he is - but it shouldn’t put off young, virile males - or old guys either.  And of course young women would do well to befriend St. Aloyisius too.  Don Marco also lists other aspects of his patronage:

“Luigi may well be the most loved Jesuit in history. He has hundreds of thousands of friends the world over. Some, following the initiative of several Popes, honour him as the patron saint of youth. More recently, he has become the protector of children at risk of sexual abuse, something that, as a page at court, he was obliged to confront and flee. Having cared for victims of the plague that devastated Rome in 1591, he is also the friend and patron of people with AIDS and of those who care for them.” - Vultus Christi

Having been raised at court, the young aristocrat was surrounded by corruption.  Which is why his purity and piety is so outstanding.  Therefore, I think he should also be a model for young men and women who live surrounded by the influence of decadent popular culture.  St. Luigi was a strong, virile, contemporary young man of his times, and is an excellent model for all of us who live in such a sexualized society.