A novena to St. Aloysius, [18-]

MANUSCRIPT NUMBER 194

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CITATION:  A novena to St. Aloysius, MSS 194, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga (also known as St. Luigi Gonzaga) was born in the castle of Castiglione, March 9, 1568, and became a Jesuit priest in 1587.  He was a distinguished student and a dedicated missionary.  In 1621, thirty years after his death, he was beatified by Pope Gregory XV; and, in 1726, he was officially canonized by Pope Benedict XIII.

St. Stanislas Kostka was born at Rostkovo near Prasnysz, Poland, around October 28, 1550.  He was a much-beloved Jesuit priest, and, when he died, the entire city of Rome proclaimed him a saint.  People hastened from all over Italy to venerate the saint's remains and, if possible, obtain some relics.  He was formally beatified in 1605 and later canonized on December 31, 1726.  St. Stanislas is one of the most popular saints in Poland today, and many religious institutions have chosen him as the patron of their novitiates.

The volume is a bound manuscript, though the volume's boards are missing.  The first half of the manuscript is comprised of "A novena to St. Aloysius" and is written in English.  The second half of the manuscript is entitled, "Neuvaine: A l'honneur de St. Stanislas Kostka" ("Novena: In honor of St. Stanislas Kostka"), and is written in French.  The manuscript appears to be of 19th century origin.

Though the identity of the manuscript's author is unknown, his identification as a Jesuit priest seems highly plausible given that both of the saints contemplated were Jesuits themselves.