Peñafort is the name of the castle near Vilafranca del Penedès where the saint was born. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it must have been between 1175 and 1180.
Raymond studied law in Barcelona and Bologna, and eventually became a professor at the University of Bologna. In 1220 he returned to Barcelona, where he received a canonry. In 1222 he was asked to draw up constitutions for the newly founded Order of Mercy. That same year he entered the Dominican Order in Barcelona. After his profession, he was assigned to teaching, but soon interrupted this work to go to Rome, called by Pope Gregory IX to serve as papal penitentiary. During this time, and throughout his life, Raymond wrote many works on canon law and moral theology, which made him famous.
He refused the archbishopric of Tarragona when it was offered to him, but later became the third Master General of the Dominican Order, giving it a new juridical structure. Back in Barcelona, he served as confessor to King James I of Aragon and accompanied him in the conquest of Mallorca.
Following the same spirit as Ramon Llull, he promoted missions for the conversion of Jews and Muslims. For this reason, he worked to establish centers where Oriental languages could be studied, and he invited Thomas Aquinas to write the Summa contra Gentiles.
When, almost a centenarian, he fell gravely ill, the city of Barcelona prayed fervently for him. King James I himself, along with King Alfonso X the Wise of Castile, who happened to be in Barcelona at the time, visited him. Raymond died on January 6th, 1275.
His popularity remained strong, especially in Catalonia. The famous Dominican convent of Santa Catalina in Barcelona was commonly called “Father Saint Raymond.” However, his canonization did not take place until 1601, under Pope Clement VIII. Later, in 1647, the Holy See granted Barcelona the privilege of being placed under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception and Saint Raymond of Peñafort.
During the upheavals of 1835, his relics were moved from Santa Catalina to Santa Maria, and later to the cathedral of Barcelona. Efforts begun under Pope Leo XIII to declare him a Doctor of the Universal Church were never completed. Since Raymond died on the day of the Epiphany, his feast was first assigned to January 23rd, but the current calendar celebrates him on the closest free day to the date of his death.
