Saint John Berchmans

I was born in 1599, in Diest, Belgium. I grew up in an time of  turbulence, caused by a religious war between Catholic and Protestant factions in the area. When I was 9, my mother suffered from a serious disease and I was near her all time. I studied at the Gymnasium at Diest and worked as a servant in the household of a priest at Mechelen to pay for my studies. In 1615, I was one of the first to enroll at the new Jesuit college that was opened. I really wanted to join the Society of Jesus, but when I wrote to my parents, my father objected strongly. He sent me to a Franciscan convent instead. There, a friar tried to change my mind, but I insisted that I felt God was calling be to become a Jesuit. My father threatened that he would withdraw his financial support if I did. Nevertheless, I entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1616. Two years later, I made my first vows and began to study philosophy in Antwerp. I became known for the clarity of my philosophical argumentation. However, I fell ill with fever and dysentery and I died at the age of 22.