August 31
Saint Raymond was born in Spain in 1204. His mother died in childbirth, and her son was taken from her womb after her death. His father is traditionally considered to have been a local count, and Raymond was destined to be a courtier at the royal court of the Kingdom of Aragon. Raymond, however, was drawn to religious life, so his father abandoned his plans for his son and gave him the job of tending sheep.
Raymond later joined the Mercedarians (Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy). This was an order dedicated to ransoming Christian captives from the Moors of North Africa. The members of the order take a fourth vow—to exchange their lives for the lives of ransomed Christians. The founder of the order trained Raymond himself. Raymond was ordained a priest in 1222 and later became the Master General (highest superior) of the order.
During his lifetime, Saint Raymond ransomed 140 Christians in Valencia, sparing them from slavery. He ransomed 250 Christians in Algiers (Northern Africa). In Tunis, also in Northern Africa, he became a hostage in exchange for twenty-eight Christians. There he was tortured and held captive until ransomed by his order in 1239. He died near Barcelona in 1240, either on August 26 or August 31, 1240.
Miracles were attributed to him both before and after his death. Due to his birth, he was often invoked by women who faced complications in childbirth.
(Image © Workshop of Francisco de Zurbarán, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)