We are inspired by the ardor and single-heartedness of Saint Aloysius, who died as a Jesuit scholastic while caring for plague victims in Rome in 1591. As Cistercians we recall that on his deathbed Aloysius asked his brother Jesuits to read to him from Saint Bernard's Sermons on the Song of Songs, a text that he always found consoling.
The Vocation of Saint Aloysius (Luigi) Gonzaga, Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) (Italian, Cento 1591–1666 Bologna), ca. 1650.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Used with permission.
