Saint Ignatius of Laconi

Vincenzo Peis was born in Laconi, in Sardinia, on December 18, 1701, and took the name Ignatius when he joined the Capuchins. He spent almost his whole life in Cagliari, and for forty years he did one job only: begging alms for his friary. He went through the city streets with his sack, asking for alms for the friars. He did it every day, for forty years, in the same streets, greeting the same people. That’s all, and the people of Cagliari have never forgotten him: he was the man who passed by, who knew who was struggling, who brought a word to those who needed it and — often — left to the poor what he had just collected. He died in Cagliari on May 11, 1781, at eighty. The beatification process began with a miracle attributed to his intercession, the healing of a woman who had regained the use of her legs. His remains rest in the Capuchin church, on an avenue that in Cagliari is called Viale Fra’ Ignazio. From time to time the urn is carried on pilgrimage across Sardinia, and every time huge numbers of people turn out. Since 2007 he has been the patron saint of the province of Oristano. If your name is Ignatius, today is your name day — though many wait for July thirty-first.