St. Ildephonsus

The Saint of the Day for January 23 is St. Ildephonsus.

Archbishop of Toledo; died 23 January, 667. He was born of a distinguished family and was a nephew of St. Eugenius, his predecessor in the See of Toledo. At an early age, despite the determined opposition of his father, he embraced the monastic life in the monastery of Agli, near Toledo. He was ordained a deacon, about 630. Called by King Reccesvinth, towards the end of 657, to fill the archiepiscopal throne of Toledo, he governed the Church of Toledo for a little more than nine years and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Leocadia.

Ildephonsus, it is said, was one day praying before the relics of Saint Leocadia, when the martyr arose from her tomb and thanked the saint for the devotion he showed towards the Mother of God. It was related, further, that on another occasion the Blessed Virgin appeared to him in person and presented him with a priestly vestment, to reward him for his zeal in honoring her.

The literary work of Ildephonsus is better known than the details of his life, and merits for him a distinguished place in the roll of Spanish writers.