St. Ignatius of Laconi was born on 10 December 1701 in Sardinia, Italy. The 2nd of the seven children of Mattia and Anna Maria Peis, he was baptized, Francis Ignatius Vincent. He grew up to be an illiterate and delicate boy of frail health, for whom the hard labor on his father's land was a severe strain. When he was about 17, he fell seriously ill, and promised to be a Franciscan, should he recover. He did recover, but his father was in no hurry to let him go. "Today or tomorrow, this year or next, it's all the same. There's no need to keep your promise at once," he would say. However, an alarming experience with a runaway horse strengthened Vincent's resolve to follow his religious vocation at once.
He made his way to St Benedict's friary near Cagliari, where, on 10 November 1721, he was accepted as a Capuchin lay brother. There were the usual trials of the novice. When it was time for his Profession, Ignatius' case seemed doubtful, but he redoubled his efforts to carry out to perfection all he was entrusted to do. And so, at the end of 1722, Ignatius was allowed to take his vows. St Ignatius spent the remainder of his long life in prayer and penance and doing the general chores as required of him by his superiors. In 1741, he was sent out to beg for alms, an occupation he continued for the remaining 40 years of his life. Even after he lost his eyesight, he continued his daily collections.
Simultaneously, he made time to visit the sick and teach the ignorant, an activity that left him hardly any time for prayer during the day. Ignatius would thus pray late into the night, sleeping barely an hour or two, with a log for a pillow. His health, however, stood him in good stead right up to his 80th year. In 1781, however, he was confined to bed and breathed his last on 11 May that year. Pope Pius XII canonized St. Ignatius of Laconi on 21 October 1951.
St. Ignatius of Laconi, pray that we persevere in fulfilling our promises to God.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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