January 23, 2013: Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo, Doctor of the Virginity of Mary

“O Lord, give me the fire that you sent forth when coming on earth. Enable me to be aflame with the ardor of charity, to glow with the splendor of obedience, and to grow ardent with love. Help me to be saved from destruction amid dangers, to escape all perils, and to hasten toward Your goodness. Grant me to come peacefully into Your presence, to be satiated forever by its manifestation, and to praise You unceasingly for all eternity.”


Today, January 23, we celebrate the feast of Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo (607-667), Doctor of the Virginity of Mary, Archbishop of Toledo, and recipient of a blessed priestly vestment from Our Blessed Mother, in reward for his zeal and love for her. Saint Ildephonsus is highly venerated in Spain, and considered a precursor in establishing the later official Vatican doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Our Blessed Mother. He was the first to establish the feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Ildephonsus was born to a noble and distinguished family in Toledo, Spain. He was the nephew of Saint Eugenius, who proceeded him as Bishop of Toledo, and a pupil of Saint Isidore of Seville. While very young, he entered the Benedictine monastery at Agalia, much against the wishes of his father. He embraced the monastic life, being ordained a deacon at the age of 23, and later becoming Abbot of the monastery. Eventually, following his attendance at the Councils of Toledo in 653 and 655, King Reccesyinth selected him to succeed Saint Eugenius as Archbishop of Toledo. It was in this capacity that he served the city and it’s inhabitants for nine years, performing his duties with diligence and sanctity until his death.

Saint Ildephonsus is a favorite saint of medieval artists, hymnographers, and poets, largely due to two famed events which occurred during his life. In one occasion, Saint Ildephonsus was praying before the relics of Saint Leocadia. It is said that during his prayers, the martyred saint rose from her grave, thanking him for the devotion he showed towards the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On a separate occasion, Our Blessed Mother herself appeared to Saint Ildephonsus, presenting him with a priestly vestment in thanks for his devotion to her. On the feast of the Mother of God, Ildephonsus and the clergy found the church engulfed in a radiant light upon arriving to celebrate Matins. All but Ildephonsus and two deacons fled, deeply afraid. When the three entered the church, there, seated on the Archbishop’s throne, was Our Blessed Mother surrounded by choirs of angels and holy virgins. Our Blessed Mother spoke to Ildephonsus, saying: "Thou art my chaplain and faithful notary. Receive from me this chasuble, which my Son sends you from His treasury." Having said this, the Immaculate Virgin clothed Ildephonsus in the chasuble, and instructed him to wear it for the Holy Sacrifice on her festivals.

Saint Ildephonsus was also a prolific writer, and his literary works are better known than the details of his life. While only four of his works have survived, they include his treatise on the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin, and an important document of the history of the Spanish Church during the first two-thirds of the seventh century, entitled Concerning Famous Men.

Saint Ildephonsus wrote several prayers in honor of Our Blessed Mother. 

Marian Prayer of Saint Ildephonsus

Virgin Mary, hear my prayer:

through the Holy Spirit

you became the Mother of Jesus;

from the Holy Spirit may I too have Jesus.

Through the Holy Spirit your flesh conceived Jesus;

through the same Spirit may my soul receive Jesus.

Through the Holy Spirit you were able to know Jesus,

to possess Jesus,
and to bring him into the world.
Through the Holy Spirit may I too come to know your Jesus.
Imbued with the Spirit,
Mary, you could say:
"I am the handmaid of the Lord,
be it done unto me according to your word";
in the Holy Spirit,
lowly as I am,
let me proclaim the great truths about Jesus.
In the Spirit you now adore Jesus as Lord
and look on Him as Son;
in the same spirit,
Mary, let me love your Jesus




Below, a Prayer of Saint Ildephonsus to Our Blessed Mother. Taken from his work, “On the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mother,” it is one of the Church’s earliest expressions of total consecration to Mary.

The Abundance of the Sweetness of Thy Son

I come to thee, only Virgin Mother of God,
and fall prostrate before thee,
who alone didst cooperate in the Incarnation of God.
I humble myself before thee,
who alone wert found to be the Mother of my Lord.
I pray thee, who alone wert found to be the handmaid of thy Son:
obtain that my sins be wiped away;
command that I be cleansed of the wickedness of my deeds,
and, that I may love the glory of thy virtue,
reveal to me the abundance of the sweetness of thy Son.

Thou Art His Co-Worker in My Redemption

Bestow upon me the gift of proclaiming the true faith of thy Son,and of defending it.
Grant that I may cleave to God and to thee,
that I may serve thy Son and thee,
that I may be His bondsman and thine;
His, because He is my Creator,
and thine, because thou art the Mother of my Creator;
His, because He is Lord of the angelic powers,
and thine, because thou art the handmaid of the Lord of All;
His, because He is God,
and thine because thou art the Mother of God;
His, because He is my Redeemer,
and thine because thou art His co-worker in my redemption.

The Body by Which He Healed My Wounds

That which He wrought for my redemption,
verily He formed in thine own person.
That He might be my Redeemer,
He became thy Son.
That He might be the price of my ransom,
He became incarnate of thy flesh.
The Body by which He healed my wounds,
He took from thee so that He, in it, might be wounded.
The mortal Body by which He took away my death,
He took from thy mortality.
The Body by which He brought my sins to nought,
He received sinless from thee.
This nature of mine that ahead of time, in Himself,
He placed above the angels in the glory of His Father's right hand,
He assumed -- humbling Himself -- out of thine own true body.

I Am Thy Slave

Therefore, I am thy slave,
because Thy Son is my Master.
Therefore thou art my Lady,
because thou art the handmaid of my Lord.
Therefore I am the slave of the handmaid of my Lord,
because thou, my Lady, didst become the Mother of my Lord.
Therefore I have become thy slave,
because thou didst become the Mother of my Maker.

By the Holy Spirit

I pray thee, I pray thee, holy Virgin,
may I, by the Spirit through Whom thou didst give birth to Jesus,have Jesus and hold Him.
By that Spirit through Whom
thou didst conceive this same Jesus in thy flesh,
may my soul receive Jesus.

Let the Spirit gift me with the knowledge of Jesus,
this Spirit by Whom it was given Thee to bear Jesus and to give Him birth.
Let the Spirit in Whom thou didst declare thyself the handmaid of the Lord,
choosing that it should be done unto thee according to the Angel's word,
grant me to proclaim the heights of Jesus with lowliness.

To Love Jesus and to Fear Him

In the Spirit thou didst adore Jesus as thy Lord
and gaze upon Him as thy Son;
in that same Spirit may I love Him.
And may I fear this same Jesus,
with that reverence by which He, truly being God,
became subject to His parents