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Saint Raymond de Pennafort
January 7, Saint and Priest


Source: Ewtn.com



Dominican priest. Also known as Raymond of Peñafort or of Penyafort.

Roman martyrology: St. Raymond of Peñafort, priest of the Order of Preachers, eminent master in canon law, who wrote successfully about the sacrament of penance. He was elected Master General of the Order, prepared the first drafts of the new Constitutions and at very old age, fell asleep in the Lord in the city of Barcelona, ​​in Spain.

Etymology: Raymond = German origins meaning “One who is protector or good counselor”.

Canonization date: April 29, 1601 by Pope Clement VIII.


 SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Since Raymond lived into his hundredth year, he had a chance to do many things.  Raymond was a lawyer, a canonist. Laws ideally state those things that are for the best interests of everyone and make sure the rights of all are safeguarded. From Raymond, we can learn a respect for law as a means of serving the common good.



Raymond was born between 1175 and 1180 in at Villafranca de Benadis, a little town near Barcelona, Spain. As a member of the Spanish nobility, he had the resources and the education to get a good start in life; he was educated at the cathedral school in Barcelona and soon became a priest. Raymond graduated from law school in Bologna, Italy, and became a famous teacher, by the time he was 20, he was teaching philosophy, in his early 30s he earned a doctorate in both canon and civil law.

Raymond was attracted to the Dominican Order by the preaching of Blessed Reginald, prior of the Dominicans of Bologna, and received the habit in the Dominican Convent of Barcelona in 1218; there he was co-founder with Saint Peter Nolasco of the Order of Mercedarians. He also founded institutes at Barcelona and Tunis for the study of Oriental languages, to convert the Moors and Jews.
He occupied a chair of canon law in the university for three years and published a treatise on ecclesiastical legislation, which still exists in the Vatican Library.

In 1230, Pope Gregory IX asked this dedicated priest to come to Rome as his confessor, when Raymond arrived; the pope gave him several assignments. One duty was to collect all the official letters and decrees of popes and councils that had been made in 80 years since a similar collection by Gratian. Raymond gathered and published five volumes called the Decretals. They were looked upon as one of the best-organized collections of Church law until the 1917 codification of canon law.

 

At the age of 60, Raymond was appointed archbishop of Tarragona, the capital of Aragon. He didn’t like the honor at all and ended up getting sick and resigning in two years. In 1238, Raymond was elected master general of the Dominicans. With his knowledge of law, he went over the order's rule and made sure everything was legally correct, after he had finished, he resigned his position in 1240.  Now he could truly dedicate the rest of his life to parish work, which is what he really wanted.

The pope thought of making Raymond an archbishop, but Raymond refused. He asked to return to Spain and he did. He was overjoyed to be in parish work. His compassion helped many people return to God through the sacrament of Reconciliation.
During his years in Rome, Raymond had often heard stories of the difficulties that missionaries were having. They were trying hard to reach out to the non-Christians of Northern Africa and Spain. To help the missionaries, Raymond started a school that taught the language and culture of the people to be evangelized, also, Father Raymond asked the famous Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas, to write a booklet, “Against the Gentiles” would explain the truths of faith in a way that nonbelievers could understand.

Raymond lived nearly one hundred years. He died in Barcelona on January 6, 1275.
He was proclaimed a saint in 1601 by Pope Clement VIII. This pope was the one who declared him the patron of Church lawyers because of his great influence on Church law.

He is considered the Patron Saint of Canonists, attorneys and lawyers

 








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