Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/January 7
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Saint Raymond of Peñafort, O.P. (c. 1175 – 1275) (Catalan: Sant Ramon de Penyafort, Spanish: San Raimundo de Peñafort) was born in Vilafranca del Penedès, a small town near Barcelona, Catalonia, around 1175. He was educated in Barcelona and also at the University of Bologna in Italy, where he received doctorates in civil law and canon law. From 1195 to 1210, he taught canon law. In 1210, he moved to Bologna, where he remained until 1222, including three years occupying the chair of canon law at the university. He was chaplain to Pope Alexander IV, and confessor of James I of Aragon.
He was instrumental in the founding of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. When approached by Peter Nolasco, Raymond encouraged and assisted him in obtaining the consent of James I for the foundation of the Order. Returning to Barcelona in 1222, he entered the Dominican Order. Gregory IX summoned him to Rome in 1230, to help in the re-arranging and codifying of Canon law. Canon laws, which were previously found scattered in many publications, were organized into one set of documents. Being pleased with Raymund's efforts, the pope announced the new publication in a Bull directed to the doctors and students of Paris and Bologna in 1231, commanding that the work of St. Raymond alone should be considered authoritative, and should alone be used in the schools. His collection of canon law became a standard for almost 700 years. When Raymond completed his work the pope appointed him Archbishop of Tarragona, but he declined the honour. Raymond followed this with the publication of a work on penitential discipline, Summa casuum, which is widely considered an authoritative work on the subject.
Raymond returned to Spain in 1236. He was made General of the Dominican order in 1238, but resigned in 1240. Having reached his sixtieth year, Raymund retired in Barcelona. There, his principal aim became to convert Jews and Muslims to Christianity. He exercised great influence over King James, and succeeded in persuading him to order a public debate, concerning Judaism and Christianity, between Moshe ben Nahman, called also El Rab de España or Bonastruc de Porta, a rabbi in Gerona, and Fra Pablo, or Pablo Christiani, a baptized Jew of Montpellier who belonged to the Dominican order.
Raymond died in 1275 and was canonised by Clement VIII in 1601 as St. Raymond of Peñafort.
Attributes: as a dominican, on the sea, with his cloak as a boat and sail
Patronage: canon lawyers; all types of lawyers (Spain)
Prayer:
