Saint Raymond Nonnatus

Raymond Nonnatus (1204 – 31 August 1240) was a Mercedarian friar and missionary from Catalonia in Spain. His byname, meaning "not born" in Latin, refers to his birth by Caesarean section, his mother having died in labour. Raymond is the patron saint of childbirth, midwives, children, pregnant women, and priests defending the confidentiality of confession. According to the traditions of the Mercedarian Order, he was born in the village of Portell (today part of Sant Ramon), in the Diocese of Urgell. He was taken from the womb of his mother after her death, hence his name. Some traditions describe him as the son of the local count, who is traditionally credited as the one to have performed the surgery which saved his life, others that he was born in a family of shepherds. His well-educated father planned a career for his son at the royal court of the Kingdom of Aragon. When the boy felt drawn to religious life, his father ordered him to manage one of the family farms. What is known is that Raymond spent his childhood tending sheep and would often pray at an ancient country chapel nearby dedicated to Saint Nicholas. If he was of aristocratic descent, clearly his father eventually abandoned hopes for his son's social advancement. His father later gave him permission to take the habit with the Mercedarians at Barcelona. The order was founded to ransom Christian captives from the Moors of North Africa. Raymond was trained by the founder of that order himself, St. Peter Nolasco. He was ordained a priest in 1222 and later became Master General of the Order. Raymond then set out to fulfill the goals of the Order. He went to Valencia, where he ransomed 140 Christians from slavery.