Saint Ildefonsus or Ildephonsus (more rarely Ildephoses or Ildefonse; born c. 607, died 23 January 667) was a scholar and theologian who served as Bishop of Toledo for the last decade of his life.
Saint Ildefonsus, defender of the perpetual virginity of Mary
Nephew of Eugene of Toledo, he was born in the capital of present-day Castile-La Mancha, during the reign of Witteric, into a prominent Visigothic family. Civil wars ravaged the Visigothic kingdom for most of his life. From childhood, he studied in Seville with Saint Isidore, then he entered the Abbey of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian of Agali near Toledo.
In 633 he was consecrated deacon, became abbot in 650, and finally bishop in 657. As abbot he founded a convent of nuns with the property he had acquired, and he participated in the Eighth and Ninth Councils of Toledo in 653 and 655. Initially reluctant to become bishop, he devoted himself to his office with a discipline that was recognized and admired, defending and transmitting the precepts of Christianity.
Among his works are: "De cognitione baptismi", and the "Libellum de Virginitate Sanctae Mariae contra tres infideles", where he defends the Catholic doctrine of the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary, before, during, and after the birth of Christ.
Among his mystical experiences were several visions, including those of the Virgin Mary surrounded by holy virgins, singing hymns, and that of Saint Leocadia, on her feast day, December 9. This is how St. Ildefonso was able to locate the relics of this martyr, indicating the exact place where her mortal remains had been buried.
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Today, the Spanish celebrate Saint Ildefonsus. Saint Visigoth, he wrote and defended the thesis of the perpetual virginity of Mary which is still debated. #mythology #myth #legend #January 23 #calendar #ildefonsus #virgemarie
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