Saint Raymond Nonnatus

Cardinal, Apostle of the Captives
(c. 1204–1240)

Saint Raymond Nonnatus receives his surname from the unusual circumstances of his birth in Catalonia around 1204: his mother died before he could be born, and he was delivered by Caesarean section from her body after her death, hence the name Nonnatus, not born in the ordinary sense. He grew up on his father's farm and from his earliest years showed a deep piety and a particular attraction to the Blessed Virgin Mary under whose protection he placed himself.

He entered the Mercedarian Order founded by Saint Peter Nolasco, whose specific charism was the ransoming of Christians held captive by the Moors in North Africa. Raymond threw himself into this work with complete dedication, travelling to Algiers and Tunis to negotiate the ransom of captives and to minister to those he could not yet ransom. When his funds were exhausted he offered himself as a hostage in exchange for the freedom of other captives, remaining as a prisoner in Algiers while they went free.

While held captive he preached the Gospel openly and baptised several of his fellow prisoners and even some Moors, an activity that enraged his captors. He was publicly tortured and his lips were pierced with a heated iron through which a padlock was passed, so that he could no longer preach or speak except at times when his captors chose to open it for meals. He bore this terrible mutilation without bitterness.

He was eventually ransomed through the intervention of the Mercedarian Order and returned to Spain, where he was created a Cardinal by Pope Gregory IX. He died on August 31, 1240, at Cardona in Catalonia, on his way to Rome to take up his duties as Cardinal. He was canonised by Alexander VII in 1657. He is the patron of childbirth, midwives, and expectant mothers, his name being invoked for those in difficult labours, and his feast is celebrated on August 31st.