Born in Spain in 1533, Alphonsus was the son of a local wool merchant. 

When he was still a boy St. Peter Faver came to his town to preach and stayed with the family, helping Alphonsus get ready for his first communion. 

His father died when he was 14, so Alphonsus worked in the family business to help his mother make ends meet. 

In his 20s he married a young woman named Maria and they had a son but, he died. Not Long after, Alphonsus and his wife had two more children, a boy, and a girl, but then his wife and daughter died, leaving him alone with his one son, who a few years later also passed away. 

By the time he was 40, Alphonsus had lost all of those whom he most deeply loved. 

His response was to turn to a deeper journey with The Lord by joining the Jesuits. But that did not happen easily. 

Because he’d left school when he was so young to work in his father’s business, Alphonsus struggled in his studies, and it took three attempts before he was finally accepted, as a lay brother. 

He made his final vows, at the age of 54. 

Alphonsus made the most of the position the Jesuits gave him at the College of Majorca, where he was a doorkeeper for 46 years. 

It was in this position that Alphonsus, over time, helped so many; those coming to seek the advice of the Fathers; the seminarians on their journey to becoming Fathers, and the Fathers themselves, all found Alphonsus to be a holy and wise influence, including a young man named Peter Claver, who sought Alphunsus’ council on several matters including the Jesuit Mission in South America. 

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, please pray for us.