Saint Raymond of Penafort, a Dominican priest who worked to aid
Christian captives during the era of the Crusades and also helped
organize the Church’s legal code, will be celebrated liturgically on
Jan. 7.
A contemporary of Saint Thomas Aquinas, he inspired the theologian to
write the “Summa Contra Gentiles” for the conversion of non-Catholics.
At least 10,000 Muslims reportedly converted as a result of St.
Raymond’s evangelistic labors.
Descended from a noble family with ties to the royal house of Aragon,
Raymond of Penafort was born during 1175 in the Catalonian region of
modern-day Spain.
He advanced quickly in his studies, showing such a gift for philosophy
that he was appointed to teach the subject in Barcelona by age 20. As a
teacher, the young man worked to harmonize reason with the profession
and practice of Catholic faith and morals. This included a notable
concern for the poor and suffering.
Around age 30 the Spanish scholar went to study secular and Church law
at Bologna in Italy.
He earned his doctorate and taught there until
1219, when the Bishop of Barcelona gave him an official position in the
diocese. During 1222, the 47-year-old Raymond joined the Dominican
order, in which he would spend the next 53 years of his remarkably long
life.
As a penance for the intellectual pride he had once demonstrated, the
former professor was asked to write a manual of moral theology for use
by confessors. The resulting “Summa Casuum” was the first of his
pioneering contributions to the Church.
Meanwhile, in keeping with his
order’s dedication to preaching, the Dominican priest strove to spread
the faith and bring back lapsed and lost members of the Church.
During his time in Barcelona, Raymond helped Saint Peter Nolasco and
King James of Aragon to establish the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, whose
members sought to ransom those taken captive in Muslim territory.
During
this same period Raymond promoted the Crusades through preaching,
encouraging the faithful to defend their civilization from foreign
threats.
Pope Gregory IX called the Dominican priest to Rome in 1230, asking him
to compile the Church’s various decisions and decrees into one
systematic and uniform collection. The resulting five books served for
centuries as a basis of the Church’s internal legal system.
Raymond was
the Pope’s personal confessor and close adviser during this time, and
nearly became the Archbishop of Tarragona in 1235. But the Dominican did
not want to lead the archdiocese, and is said to have turned down the
appointment.
Later in the decade, Raymond was chosen to lead the Dominicans, though
he did so for only two years due to his advancing age. Ironically,
however, he would live on for more than three decades after resigning
from this post.
During this time he was able to focus on the
fundamentals of his vocation: praising God in prayer, making him known
through preaching, and making his blessings manifest in the world.
Raymond’s later achievements included the establishment of language
schools to aid in the evangelization of non-Christians.
St. Raymond of Penafort’s long pilgrimage of faith ended on Jan. 6,
1275, approximately 100 years after his birth. Pope Clement VIII
canonized him in 1601. His patronage extends toward lawyers in general,
and canon lawyers in particular.