Daily Saint

St. Raymond Nonnatus is remembered for his extraordinary charity, courage, and sacrificial love for others.

Born in Catalonia, Spain, around 1204, he began his life under unusual circumstances. His mother died before he was born, and he was delivered by a procedure that earned him the surname Nonnatus, meaning “not born” in the natural way. His early years were spent tending sheep for his father.

As a young man, Raymond joined the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, or the Mercedarians, a religious order founded to ransom Christians captured during conflicts between Christian and Muslim territories around the Mediterranean.

The Mercedarians took a unique fourth vow pledging to offer themselves as hostages if necessary to secure the release of Christians whose faith was endangered in captivity. Raymond was wholeheartedly dedicated to his mission.

Traveling to North Africa, he negotiated the freedom of numerous captives. When the ransom money entrusted to him was exhausted, Raymond offered himself in exchange for several prisoners. During his captivity, he continued to encourage fellow Christians and to proclaim the Faith. According to tradition, his captors sought to silence him by piercing his lips and fastening them with a padlock.

Eventually, fellow Mercedarians secured his release, and Raymond returned to Spain. His reputation for holiness spread widely, and Pope Gregory IX summoned him to Rome. Some speculated he would be named a cardinal. However, on his way to Rome, Raymond was overcome with a “violent” fever and died on August 31, 1240.

St. Raymond is honored as a patron of childbirth and expectant mothers, as well as those who suffer unjust accusations or imprisonment.