Lectio Divina: Sacred Scripture and Mental Prayer
Lectio Divina means “Divine Reading...
Born in 607 to a prominent Visigoth family in Toledo Spain, he was educated from a young age by Saint Isidore of Seville.
Ildefonsus chose to become a monk at Agali monastery. Eventually, he became abbot, helping to found and endow a monastery for nuns.
He was also a great and dedicated confessor.
When the Bishop of Toledo died, Ildefonsus was elected to replace him but he initially declined.
Only after the King insisted did Ildefonsus agree to become Archbishop of Toledo.
But his defining work was Salve Maria Regina, which was about the perpetual virginity of Our Lady. One day, The Blessed Mother appeared to him, holding the book he’d written about her. She thanked him for it and, out of gratitude, gave him a golden chasuble.
He died after about a decade as Archbishop of Toledo in 667.
St. Ildefonsus, please pray for us.
