St. Louis Bertrand

  Posted on November 9, 2020  by admin  No comments

Born: 1 January 1526 at Valencia, Spain 

Died: 9 October 1581 of natural causes at Valencia, Spain 

Canonized: 12 April 1671 by Pope Clement X 

Patronage: Caribbean vicariates, Colombia, Dominican novices 

Feast day: October 9

Relative of Saint Vincent Ferrer. Deeply religious from childhood, Louis joined the Dominicans in 1544 at age 18. Ordained in 1547 at age 21. Noted preacher. Master of novices for 30 years. Worked with plague victims in 1557. Friend of Saint Teresa of Avila, and helped her reform her order. Missionary to Central and South America, and to the Caribbean; Louis expected to be martyred. He survived a poisoning attacks by local shamans, and reported to have converted 15,000. Prophet, miracle worker, and may have had the gift of tongues. After seven years of work, Louis returned to Spain to report on the bad actions of Spaniards in the region; he was re-assigned to preaching and training novices in Valencia.