Saint Alonso de Orozco
Augustinian preacher to the royal court who lived in poverty in Madrid
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Priest, Religious
- Life
- 1500 – 1591
- Era
- 16th century
- Feast
- 19 September
- Countries
- Spain
Life story
Alonso de Orozco was born on 17 October 1500 in Oropesa, province of Toledo, Spain. He studied at Talavera de la Reina, spent three years as a choirboy at Toledo Cathedral, and at fourteen was sent to the University of Salamanca.
In 1520 sermons by St Thomas of Villanova strengthened his call to religious life. He entered the Augustinians, professed his vows and was ordained a priest in 1527. In 1549 he set out for Mexico as a missionary but fell ill with arthritis in the Canary Islands, and doctors forbade him to continue.
In 1554, while prior of the convent in Valladolid, he was named royal preacher to Emperor Charles V. When the court moved to Madrid in 1561, he moved too and lived at the convent of San Felipe el Real. He gave up the privileges and stipend of his court post and lived in austere poverty like any friar. He wrote many devotional works, among them Rule for a Christian Life (1542), The Art of Loving God and Neighbour (1567) and The Book of the Gentleness of God (1576), and he founded Augustinian houses for friars and contemplative nuns.
In August 1591 he came down with a fever but kept celebrating Mass daily. He died on 19 September 1591 at the College of the Incarnation in Madrid, which he had founded two years earlier. Leo XIII beatified him on 15 January 1882, and John Paul II canonised him on 19 May 2002. His feast day is 19 September.
Works and witness
- Ordained in 1527; set out for Mexico in 1549 but was stopped by illness
- Royal preacher to Emperor Charles V from 1554
- Gave up court privileges and lived in poverty at San Felipe el Real in Madrid
- Wrote many devotional books and founded Augustinian houses
- Beatified in 1882 and canonised on 19 May 2002
Saints from the same country
References
- Vatican, “Alonso de Orozco: biography (1500-1591)”, vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2002/documents/ns_lit_doc_20020519_orozco_en.html
- Order of Saint Augustine, “San Alonso de Orozco”, augustinians.net
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.