by Alex Lauricio

St. Aloysius Gonzaga, better known to us as St. Luigi Gonzaga, is one of the many Jesuit saints whose statues grace the halls of Ateneo. A prominent Jesuit character, his rejection of material wealth and his incredible practice of cura personalis towards plague victims in the late 1500s has led to his early death in 1591 and sainthood in 1926. While his burning fire might have been short-lived, it was bright enough to save some, and inspire more.

He has a statue stored within Ateneo’s walls, taken out and displayed only during special events and Jesuit commemorations celebrated within the Atenean community. Today, on his feast day, we uncover the story and tragic tale of St. Luigi’s life — a star that burned bright in Europe’s dark skies, if only just for a moment.

The Life of Saint Luigi

He was born as the heir to the Gonzaga family — a family name that commanded wealth and prestige across Italy. His father was a marquis, a title that denoted high-ranking nobility and power. Alongside the title were the riches that were associated with it, and St. Luigi would inherit a hoard of material wealth when the time comes.

Despite the wealth and power that he was destined to inherit, he rejected the marquis title, much to his father’s dismay. He was sent to Spain in order to be educated by priests, where he finds out about the new up-and-coming Society of Jesus (SoJ). After falling ill to a disease that affected his kidneys, he spent most of his bedrest reading books — and came across a Jesuit missionary account in India.

After a thorough reading, he was inspired to join the movement. He decided that there was more to life than material wealth, and decided to join the SoJ on November 25, 1585. This marked the beginning of his formal studies of Theology in Rome.

Unfortunately, this coincided with a tragic historical event — the Black Death. Widely attributed to be the first pandemic that humankind has ever faced, the bubonic plague was a disease spread by infected rats to humans. Due to the lack of medical technology in the 1500s, Europe was greatly devastated and millions died as a result.

Rome was one of the many hotspots of the disease, and many people flocked to ineffective plague doctors or to the Church. Rotting corpses would line up the streets of Europe, but neither sight nor stench of decay was enough to convince St. Luigi to stop helping vulnerable plague victims during his studies.

In the process of helping others, he was inevitably inflicted with the disease, and died in 1591. He was only a mere six years short of being ordained to Jesuit priesthood, and lived out his entire life practicing Jesuit values. He gave away much of himself to provide what little care and consolation he could give to victims of the plague.

In as much as his life is a story of tragedy, little would he know that he would be a celebrated figure among Jesuits; many would come to admire St. Luigi’s bravery and selflessness, true to the Jesuit value of cura personalis. He had spent the last of his days caring for the sick, much like the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

The subject of many paintings, St. Luigi Gonzaga is depicted in popular Jesuit art as a young chapel page, a young man in the church who assists the priests and the clergy in their affairs and errands. This iconography is often seen alongside a skull and amaryllis lilies, referring to his untimely death and innocence respectively. 

Due to his age and his valiant efforts in volunteerism, he was deemed as the patron saint of the youth by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Apart from his sainthood and iconography in Jesuit art, the legacy of his presence manifests in Ateneo by the objects, structures, and long halls that were named and attributed to him — one of which is the iconic sundial in the courtyard of Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS).

Behind the Sundial

If you turn right the moment you enter the ASHS lobby, you may have noticed a giant circular structure in the middle of the enclosure. The courtyard sundial inside the ASHS walls is well known to be the legacy project of Batch 2020, but lesser known is that it is named after St. Luigi Gonzaga.

“The Ateneo Senior High School Batch of 2020… takes pride in transforming the center of the SHS building into a functional and delightful courtyard of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Ignatius of Loyola as places of refuge and prayer for the whole community,” said Mr. Rene Santos, the Chairperson of the Grade 12 Parents’ Council of Batch 2020. 

Blessed in 2020 by Fr. Bong Dahunan, SJ, the sundial was created as a subtle reminder of what St. Luigi Gonzaga lacked — time, much like the early dusk that greeted St. Luigi. Fittingly enough, sundials were primitive clocks that tracked time by the movement of the Sun, and by the time night came they were of no use.

The sundial was designed by Abdulmari de Leon Imao — better known as Toym Imao — a renowned Filipino artist and the son of one of the Philippines’ National Artists for the Visual Arts. The sundial is but one of the many examples of how Ateneo incorporates St. Luigi into the daily lives of its students.

“Tara, Gonz!”

Trodding down the college lane you’ll find Gonzaga Hall — a building named after the late saint of the same name. The two-floored cafeteria offers a myriad of food stalls available for all Atenean students, and one well-known phrase that reflects Atenean college culture is “Tara, Gonz!” referring to the Loyola Schools’ own cafeteria.

The cafeteria does well in mimicking St. Luigi’s deeds — offering food and a place to stay for many of the Atenean students, much like how St. Luigi offered food, safety and refuge among the population of plague victims that were pushed away by society and had nothing to eat. 

Renowned Jesuit priests from Europe had gifted Ateneo with bone fragments of St. Luigi Gonzaga, St. John Berchmans, and St. Stanislas Kostka. These holy relics are rigid symbols of faith that bless the many halls and structures of Ateneo, especially the buildings named after the trio of saints. These artifacts are enshrined in Ateneo’s very own Immaculate Concepcion Chapel.

Apart from Jesuit institutions in the Philippines, there are many other schools across the world that are named after St. Luigi Gonzaga, made to honor the sacrifice and volunteerism of the late saint.

While he indeed ran out of time, St. Luigi Gonzaga has proven that one does not need to live long lives in order to make a profound impact on the lives of others. Much to our shooting star rhetoric, he had burned bright enough to light the dark sky — inspiring generations of Jesuit priests and young Christians to make an impact in their lives.