May 11 - Saint Ignatius of Laconi
Quick Facts- Son of a poor farmer with seven children, Ignatius grew up in hard rural poverty, working the fields.
- At age 17, he became very ill, and promised to be a Franciscan if he was spared.
- When he was cured, his father convinced him to wait.
- At age 20 Ignatius was almost killed when he lost control of his horse; suddenly the horse stopped, and trotted on quietly.
- Ignatius was convinced God had saved his life, and he decided to follow his religious vocation at once.
- He joined the Capuchin monastery of Saint Benedict at Buoncammino as a lay brother, taking his vows in 1722.
- Worked fifteen years in his house's weaving shed, then spent forty years as part of a team who went house to house asking food and donations for the friars.
- People soon realized they received a gift in return from Brother Ignatius as he consoled the sick and the lonely, and cheered children of the street.
- He made peace between enemies, converted sinners, advised people in trouble.
- People noticed Igantius would skip the house of a rich moneylender, a man who never forgave a debt, and who felt slighted because Ignatius passed his house.
- He complained to Brother Ignatius' superior, who knew nothing about the moneylender, and so sent Ignatius to the house.The saint returned with a large sack of food, but when the sack was emptied, blood dripped out.
- "This is the blood of the poor," Ignatius softly explained. "That is why I never ask for anything at that house."
