Saint John Berchmans
![[Saint John stained glass window]](stj19005.jpg "15kb jpg photograph of the Saint John stained glass window in Saint Joseph's Cathedral, Macon, Georgia, USA, artist unknown; photographed in the summer of 2003; please do not write to ask about the image")
- Memorial
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26 November
formerly 13 August
27 November (Jesuits)
- Profile
- Son of a shoemaker, and one of five children, three of whom entered religious life.
Great devotion to his position as an altar boy.
He spent much of his time caring for his mother, who was in poor health.
Jesuit noviate in 1616, deciding to become a Jesuit after reading the life of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.
Student at the Jesuit College at Malines.
Studied philosophy in Rome.
John had a dream of helping and teaching multi-lingual migrants, and he studied all the chief languages of Europe.
He wanted to work in China after ordination.
He died of unknown causes following his participation in a public debate defending the faith, and while clutching his rosary, crucifix, and rules of his order; he did not live to be ordained.
John Berchmans was not noted for extraordinary feats of holiness or austerity, nor did he found orders or churches or work flashy miracles.
He made kindness, courtesy, and constant fidelity an important part of his holiness.
The path to holiness can lie in the ordinary rather than the extraordinary.
- Born
- 13 March 1599 at Driest, Brabant, Belgium
- Died
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12 August 1621 at Rome, Italy
relics at Saint Ignatius Church, Rome
- Name Meaning
- God is gracious; gift of God (John)
- Beatified
- 1865 by Pope Pius IX
- Canonized
- 1888 by Pope Leo XIII
- Patronage
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altar boys
altar girls
altar servers
Oblate novices
young people
- Prayer Links
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Prayer to... I
Prayer to... II
- Representation
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standing with hands clasped, holding his crucifix, his book of rules, and his rosary
the Rule of Saint Ignatius, a cross, and rosary
- Images
- Gallery of images of Saint John
- Storefront
- Commercial Links related to Saint John
- Additional Information
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Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Google Directory
New Catholic Dictionary
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
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