Simón de Rojas (28 October 1552 – 29 September 1624) was a Spanish priest of the Trinitarian Order known as the "Apostle of the Ave Maria", for his devotion to the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
. A person of many abilities, Rojas was a theologian and a spiritual writer, as well as a friend and benefactor of the poor.
Early life
Born 28 October 1552, in
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
, Spain, he lived a childhood steeped in piety. As a child, Rojas was cured of a serious speech impediment through his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His very first words were "Ave Maria", almost foreshadowing his lifelong devotion to the Virgin. At the age of twelve he entered the Trinitarian monastery at
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
and there he made his religious profession on 28 October 1572, the day of his 20th birthday. He then went on to study at the
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...
from 1573 to 1579, during which time he was ordained a priest in 1577.
Religious life
Rojas taught philosophy and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at Toledo from 1581 to 1587. From 1588 until his death he fulfilled the office of superior in various monasteries of his province and was sent as apostolic visitor twice to his own province of Castilla, and once to that of
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
. His greatest joy was to visit Marian shrines, to pray to Mary and with Mary, to imitate her virtues, to sing her praises, to acknowledge her importance in the mystery of God and of the Church.
Through profound theological studies, he came to understand even better the mission of Mary in cooperation with the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
for the salvation of the human race and the sanctification of the church. He lived his religious vows in the imitation of Mary. He held that, for everyone to be completely of God, as Mary had been, it was necessary to become her slaves, or better, slaves of God in Mary; for this reason he established the Congregation of the Slaves of Mary for the greater glory of the Trinity, in praise of the Virgin, in the service of the poor.
For him, to be a slave of Mary meant belonging totally to her: "Totus tuus" in order to unite oneself more intimately to Christ and in him through the Spirit, to the Father. During this period Rojas began to serve the Spanish queen, Margaret of Austria, as
confessor
Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.
Confessor of the Faith
Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.King Philip III feared that she would be unable to receive the sacraments before dying. Rojas then came to her bedside. After he had greeted her with the words, "Ave Maria, Señora" ("Hail Mary, my lady"), she instantly became conscious and answered him, "Gratia plena, Padre Rojas" ("Full of grace, Father Rojas"). Rojas was thereupon able to administer to her the anointing of the sick and
Viaticum
Viaticum is a term used – especially in the Catholic Church – for the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion), administered, with or without Anointing of the Sick (also called Extreme Unction), to a person who is dying; viaticum is thus a part ...
before she died.
On 14 April 1612 he founded the Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary.Simón de Rojas Vatican
In 1619, he was named tutor to the royal princes of Spain and on 12 May 1621 he was elected provincial of Castilla. These two posts were only accepted by Rojas on the condition that he be able to continue his work with the poor, and remaining faithful to the
Trinitarian
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...
charism. Whilst working in the court Rojas had thousands of images of the Most Holy Virgin printed with the inscription: "Ave Maria", which he also sent abroad. He had rosaries made with seventy-two blue beads on a white cord, symbols of the
Assumption
Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
Assumption may also refer to:
Places
* Assumption, Alberta, Canada
* Assumption, Illinois, United States
** Assumption Tow ...
and the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
, and also a reminder that Mary, according to the belief of the time, lived to the age of 72 years. He sent these rosaries everywhere, even to England (at that time a Protestant nation). Using his influence at court, he had the angelic greeting so dear to him, "Ave Maria", engraved in letters of gold on the facade of the royal palace in Madrid.
Later, on 1 January 1622, he was chosen
confessor
Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.
Confessor of the Faith
Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Queen Isabel of Borbon. On 5 June 1622, he petitioned the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
for the approval of his liturgical text composed in honour of the Sweet Name of Mary, which later, Pope Innocent XI extended to the Catholic Church. He died in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
on 29 September 1624.
After death
After his death on 29 September 1624, the honours bestowed on him at his funeral took on the aspect of an anticipated canonisation. For twelve days, the most renowned preachers of Madrid exalted his virtues and his holiness. Impressed with this unanimous veneration, on 8 October 1624, the
papal nuncio
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
ordered the beginning of the process leading to his
beatification
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
by the church. His heroic virtues were recognised by Pope Clement XII on 25 March 1735. Rojas was
beatified
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
by
Pope Clement XIII
Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...
on 19 March 1766. On 3 July 1988, just before the close of the Marian Year, he was finally
canonised
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
.
Legacy
Rojas is often depicted by painters, with the greeting "Ave Maria" on his lips. The congregation founded by Rojas, Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary (also known as the Congregation of the Slaves of Mary or the Congregation of the Most Holy Name of Mary), was intended for the laity; persons of every social class could join. The members, who included the king and his children, dedicated themselves to honour Mary by giving maternal help to her favourite children, the poor. This work still continues in Spain. Rojas, who is held to be one of the greatest contemplatives of his time and who in his work, "The Greatness of Prayer" is clearly a great instructor of prayerful souls, wanted the contemplative dimension joined to the active through works of mercy.
References
Bibliography
*Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, ''Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints'', Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, p757.