St. Aloysius Gonzaga was the firstborn in a powerful Italian noble family. As a son of a princely family, he grew up in royal courts and army camps. His father wanted Aloysius to be a military hero. At the age of seven he experienced a profound spiritual awakening. At the age of nine he came from his hometown of Castiglione to Florence to be educated and by the age of eleven he was teaching poor children.

When he was 13 years old he traveled with his parents and the Empress of Austria to Spain and acted as a page in the court of Philip II. The more Aloysius saw of court life, the more disillusioned he became, seeking relief in the experience of God.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga wanted to serve people in distant lands and offer his life in service to God and the needy. He decided to enter the Jesuit Order. When he communicated that decision to his parents, there was opposition. Then began a four-year contest with his father. Eminent churchmen and lay people were pressed into service to persuade him to remain in his normal life of wealth and aristocracy.

Young Aloysius was determined and finally prevailed. He renounced his right to succession and was received into the Jesuit novitiate. After two years of formation as a Jesuit, he spent four years in philosophy and deepened his life of prayer, discipline, and service.

In 1591, a plague struck Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital of their own, with several of them rendering service. He nursed patients, washing them and making their beds, and Aloysius caught the disease himself. A fever persisted after his recovery and he was so weak he could scarcely rise from bed.

Yet he maintained his great discipline of prayer and service. Three months later, Aloysius developed the symptoms of plague and died on 21 June 1591 at the age of 23. He was canonized in 1726 and was named Patron of all students in 1729. His feast is celebrated on 21 June.