Today we celebrate the memorial of Blessed Raymond Lull.

On the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Raymond was born in Palma. There he gained a place in the king’s court. He was moved by a lecture one day to make it his life’s effort to convert the Muslims in North Africa. He established a college where missionaries could study Arabic they would need in the missions and later converted to the Secular Franciscan Order. He retired to solitary and lived as a hermit for nine years. He wrote about all areas of knowledge back then, earning the moniker “Enlightened Doctor” for his writings.

In the following years, Raymond made numerous visits to Europe to persuade popes, kings, and princes to support the creation of specialized institutions for training missionaries. The Council of Vienne’s order to establish chairs in Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldean at the universities of Bologna, Oxford, Paris, and Salamanca in 1311 helped him achieve his objective. Raymond, a 79-year-old missionary, traveled to North Africa in 1314. He was stoned in Bougie City by a mob of irate Muslims. He was brought back to Mallorca by Genoese businessmen, where he passed away. Raymond’s feast day is on June 30. Raymond received canonization in 1514.

source: franciscanmedia.org