Alonso Rodriguez was born in Segovia, Spain. He was the second child of a prosperous wool and textile merchant, whose opulent home welcomed Father Peter Fabe when the Jesuit arrived to give a sermon. While Faber assisted the young boy in getting ready for his first communion, Rodriguez's journey to the Society of Jesus was convoluted and took a while.

His father had sent him to the new Jesuit college at Alcalá when he was twelve, but when his father passed away, his studies came to a sudden halt. Alonso first assisted his mother in managing the family business until eventually taking full control of it. He wed Maria Suárez at the age of 27, and the two had three children together. But, this happiness was short-lived as his wife and all the three children passed away. Subsequently, his business suffered greatly from high taxes, leading to its final collapse. All these incidents led the young widower to see himself as a failure.

In his anguish, he sought spiritual guidance from the recently arrived Jesuits in Segovia. Rodriguez's deeply personal relationship with God developed as a result of the tragic loss of his wife and family. The widower prayed for many lonely and depressing years, trying to follow God's will. He volunteered himself as a candidate for the priesthood, wanting to dedicate himself to God as a Jesuit, but the Jesuits who interviewed him for admittance found him unfit due to his elderly age (35), poor health, and lack of education.

He relocated to Valencia in 1568, where his spiritual father had been posted, and he spent the next two years pursuing the training required to become a priest. If being a priest was out of the question, he was willing to become a Jesuit brother, but the fathers who examined him in Valencia reached the same unfavorable result. But the provincial acknowledged his holiness and allowed him to join the Society of Jesus.

Rodriguez enrolled in the Jesuit novitiate on January 31, 1571, at the age of 37. However, he was transferred to the college of Montesión at Palma, on the Spanish coast's Majorca island, barely six months later. The new brother would complete his novitiate there, where he would also become well-known for his door-keeping duties and friendship with another Jesuit saint, Peter Claver, who was an apostle to recently arrived slaves in Colombia.

Rodriguez started working as the college's doorkeeper in 1579. His responsibilities included greeting guests, looking for missing Jesuits or students, carrying messages, doing errands, giving alms to the poor, and—above all—soothing those in distress who had no one else to turn to. Rodriguez would have greeted God with the same grin he would have given to everyone who walked on his door, even though the labor was repetitious, monotonous, and required a great deal of humility. Students sought counsel, inspiration, and prayers from Brother Alonso because they sensed his influence and presence.

When Peter Claver arrived at the college at the age of 72, he was filled with a burning desire to serve God but was unsure about how to go about it. After becoming friends with Alonso, the two would frequently stroll around the school's grounds and talk about holiness and prayer. The youngster was persuaded to attend the South American missions by their older mentor.

Alonso's purity and kindness were always acknowledged, but his spiritual notes and memoirs only became apparent after his passing, revealing the depth and calibre of his prayer life. God had shown great mystical graces, ecstasies, and visions of our Lord, Our Lady, and the saints to the humble brother.

Alonso died on October 31, 1617, following an extended illness, and his funeral was attended by Church and government dignitaries. In 1626, he was declared Venerable, and in 1633 he was named patron of Majorca. Beatified in 1825, Alonso was canonized alongside St. Peter Claver in September 1888. His feast is celebrated on October 30.

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Saint Zenobius & Zenobia
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