St john berchmans biography of rory

17th Century Jesuit Saint

John Berchmans, SJ (Dutch: Jan Berchmans[jɑmˈbɛr(ə)xmɑns]; 13 March 1599 – 13 August 1621) was a BelgianJesuit scholastic and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church.

In 1615, the Jesuits opened a college at Mechelen, Belgium and Berchmans was one of the first to enroll. His spiritual model was his fellow Jesuit Aloysius Gonzaga, and he was influenced by the example of the English Jesuit martyrs.

Berchmans is the patron saint of altar servers, Jesuit scholastics, and students.

St john berchmans biography of rory allen

Early life

John Berchmans was born on 13 March 1599, in the city of Diest situated in what is now the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, the son of a shoemaker. His parents were John Charles and Elizabeth Berchmans.

He was the oldest of five children and at baptism was named John in honor of John the Baptist. He grew up in an atmosphere of political turmoil caused by a religious war between the Catholic and Protestant parts of the Low