ST IGNATIUS OF SANTHIÀ, PRIEST AND RELIGIOUS - 22 SEPTEMBER

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 22nd of September

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST IGNATIUS OF SANTHIÀ, PRIEST AND RELIGIOUS 

He was born Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti in Vercelli on  June 5, 1686 as the fourth of six children to Pietro Paolo Belvisotti and Maria Elisabetta Balocco. 

A local priest, Bartolomeo Quallio, provided his education. He inspired Lorenzo to discern a potential call to religious life. The latter's decision came at the age of seven after the death of his father. 

He travelled to Vercelli from his village for theological and philosophical studies and was ordained to the priesthood in 1710. He remained as a parish priest until 1716. He was offered a position of power in Vercelli but he declined it and instead became a novice in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. 

He made his religious profession on May 24 1717 and assumed the name of "Ignatius of Santhià" - this earned the ire of his parents who did not understand his decision to join the order. He assumed his name in honour of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. 

He was assigned to a convent in Saluzzo in 1717 and served as a sacristan there. He was also a novice master at Chieri for a time and a sacristan in Turin in 1723. He also served as the novice master at Mondovi from 1731 to 1744 but an ailment in one of his eyes causes him to retire from the position for two years.

Between 1743 and 1746 war broke out in Piedmont. After he had recovered from his near blindness he became the head chaplain of the armies of Charles Emmanuel III who were combating the Franco-Hispanic forces. 

He gained a strong reputation for his work with the injured. He also worked in that position in hospitals in both Asti and Alessandria. He returned to his old life after the conflict ceased where he served as a confessor and religious instructor. He continued to visit the ill and the poor across Turin and ministered to the thousands that flocked to receive his blessing and would often state: "Paradise is not made for slackers. Let's get to work".

He died on September 22, 1770 with a reputation for holiness and hailed as a saint across Turin where he died.

He was beatified on April 17, 1966 and canonised on May 19, 2002.

(Source: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_of_Santhi%C3%A0 )