Also known as
 Aluigi Gonzaga
 Luigi Gonzaga
Memorial
21 June
Profile
Italian noble who grew up in a castle, the son of a compulsive gambler. Cousin of Saint Rudolph Acquaviva. Trained from age four as a soldier and courtier. Suffered from kidney disease which he considered a blessing as it left him bed-ridden with time for prayer. While still a boy himself, he taught catechism to poor boys. Received First Communion from Saint Charles Borromeo. At age 18 he signed away his legal claim to his family's lands and title to his brother, and became a Jesuit novice. Spiritual student of Saint Robert Bellarmine. Tended plague victims in Rome in the outbreak of 1591.
Born
9 March 1568 at castle of Castiglione delle Stivieri in Montau, Lombardy, Italy
Died
20-21 June 1591 at Rome of plague, fever, and desire to see God; relics entombed under the altar of Saint Ignatius Church, Rome
Beatified
 19 October 1605 Pope Paul V (cultus confirmed)
 1621 by Pope Gregory XV

Canonized
31 December 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII
Patronage
 against sore eyes
 AIDS care-givers
 AIDS patients
 Catholic youth
 Jesuit students
 relief from pestilence
 teenage children
 teenagers
 Valmonte, Italy
 young people