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All Italy Castiglione delle Stiviere St. Aloysius Gonzaga Skull

St. Aloysius Gonzaga Skull

The skull of this patron saint is kept in a shrine located in his hometown.

Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy

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St. Aloysius Gonzaga Skull   Garonzi Stefania/CC BY-SA 4.0
San Luigi Church.   Massimo Telò/CC BY-SA 3.0
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Main altar presently under renovationn   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
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San Luigi dei Francesi was the firstborn of the first Marquis of Castiglione delle Stiviere. He was educated on military life but was only seven years old when he got close to Catholocism. He took a vow of "perpetual virginity" at the age of eight years old. He entered the Society of Jesus at 17, and the following year made the official renunciation of the title of Marquis.

He worked during the plague of Rome at the end of the 16th century and died at the age of 23. Sanctified in the 18th-century, his body is kept in Sant'Ignazio Church in Rome, the jaw is in the church of Rosolini in Sicily, and the skull was brought back to his hometown.

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March 2, 2021

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St. Aloysius Gonzaga Skull
7 Piazza S. Luigi
Castiglione delle Stiviere, 46043
Italy
45.389863, 10.488289
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