San Ramón Nonato Find out all about the patron saint of difficult births, and learn the prayers and rituals that will free you from gossip and false accusations.
History and biography of Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus was born in Catalonia, in the town of Portell, in 1204, although some historians date his birth to 1200. He owes his nickname nonato (unborn) to the first tragedy that would mark his life: his mother died a few hours before giving birth to him, and his father had to authorise a caesarean section to save him. It was the first miracle that Divine Providence gave him.
Because of his miraculous birth, he was given the name Ramón, which means “protected by the divine”, a peculiar characteristic that would save him throughout his holy life. His family, Catalans, owned land and other property, so it is believed that they were a family of Spanish nobility. From childhood he showed a great inclination to study, reading and a very developed sense of spirituality, being very pious towards the less economically favoured people.
His father, noticing his way of being, applied himself to his studies, with a sense of piety and kindness, and sent him to look after sheep and other animals on one of his estates, with the aim of making him a caretaker of his land when he grew up, so that he would not become a seminarian in some church. San Ramón Nonato worked in these trades from the age of eight until, in his adolescence, around the age of eighteen, he heard of a religious from Barcelona, San Pedro Nolasco, who had founded a religious order, the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.
Saint Peter Nolasco (1181-1245) was a very pious man who sought out religious people to give them the mission of rescuing prisoners who had been kidnapped and sold as slaves by the Muslims. To this end, in 1218 he created the Order of the Knights of Mercy, dedicated to the salvation and liberation of people held captive by the Muslims.
St Raymond Nonnatus, as a young man, met St Peter Nolasco to be part of his missionaries, since it was his vocation to help others, and since this Order of the Knights of Mercy was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was even more enthusiastic about dedicating his life to helping others. His father allowed him to enter the Order thanks to the intercession of his godfather, the Count of Cardona.
The Order of the Knights of Mercy took four vows: chastity, poverty, obedience and the fourth was to give their lives if necessary to save others from captivity, even if they were weaker in relation to their Christian faith. The members of this order were given enough money to ransom Christian slaves held by the Muslims in Africa, and with this money they were able to negotiate the release of many Catholic prisoners.
In 1222 he was raised to the rank of priest and won the friendship and sympathy of his companions in the Order of the Knights of Mercy for his qualities of kindness, goodness, piety and great love for the Virgin Mary, to whom he always claimed to be devoted. San Ramón Nonato was taken prisoner by the African Muslims on his mission of redemption for the captives in Africa, because, after having succeeded in freeing several Christians, he was left with no money or other valuable possessions with which to pay the ransom of a Christian whose release he had yet to negotiate.
San Ramón Nonato, who had no money left to pay another ransom, decided to take the fourth vow of his order, which was to give his life and freedom for the salvation of others, and gave himself up in exchange for the hostage, waiting to be ransomed by his fellow Marian militiamen, not knowing that he, who was only a mediator waiting for the ransom, would be subjected to the same, if not worse, mistreatment that the kidnappers inflicted on their captives.
St Raymond Nonnatus, who had a great sense of piety, was very moved to see how his fellow prisoners were treated by their captors, some suffering from disease, others covered with sores, many suffering from hunger, constantly whipped and forced to work building walls, carrying heavy stones. St Raymond Nonnatus had to do forced labour and suffered the misfortune of hunger during his captivity.
Throughout his imprisonment and enslavement, San Ramón Nonato dedicated himself to preaching the holy words of the Bible in order to fulfil his mission of salvation among the prisoners, who, due to the suffering they endured and the religious intolerance of the Muslims, were inclined to deny the Christian faith and commit the sin of apostasy from the sacraments of the Catholic Church.
Because he used to preach among the other prisoners, San Ramón Nonato was martyred, he was often whipped in the prison and even publicly in a square, all these sufferings had their origin in the fact that the African Muslims who held them captive were extremely intolerant towards Christians and all those who practised the Catholic faith, and therefore, in their religious intolerance, they tried to intimidate and diminish their religion.
Since San Ramón Nonato did not cease his Christian apostolate despite the scourging they inflicted on him, the Muslims martyred him by putting a hot iron through his mouth. Later, when San Ramón Nonato persisted in his preaching, and it is said that he succeeded in converting several Muslims to Catholicism, his captors decided to increase their cruelty by sewing a padlock into his mouth, which they would only open when they gave him food.
After suffering in captivity for a little over ten months, Saint Raymond Nonnatus was rescued by the Order of the Knights of Mercy, sent to Algeria by order of Saint Peter Nolasco, and returned to Catalonia with great fame for his heroic deeds, which did not prevent him from preaching to his captors and the imprisoned slaves. Saint Raymond Nonnatus intended to remain in Algiers to preach Christianity to the African Mohammedans.
In 1239 Pope Gregory IX, Pope between 1227 and 1241, rewarded him for his devotion and exploits among the intolerant Muslims by making him a cardinal. He lived for a time in a convent in Barcelona, where he devoted himself to a life less lacking in the comforts that his new title of cardinal gave him. San Ramón Nonato shunned luxury and dedicated himself to helping the sick and the needy, and to bringing the weak to Christianity.
Pope Gregory IX invited him to the Holy See of the Vatican, in Rome, to get to know him because of his reputation for piety and devotion as a priest and now as a cardinal, and also to learn about his coexistence with the Muslims and the Christians they held captive. On his way to Rome, San Ramón Nonato fell seriously ill in the Spanish town of Cardona. His illness took its toll and a few days later he died and entered the immortal light.
In time, the Spanish region of Cardona, near the city of Barcelona, became a place of pilgrimage for those who knew his life, full of piety, kindness, mercy and devotion to Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary. St Raymond Nonnatus died on 31 August 1240 in Cardona, Spain. He is recognised as the patron saint of childbirth, midwives, pregnant women, obstetricians and babies. His feast day is celebrated every year on 31 August.
San Ramón Nonato was canonised by Pope Alexander VII in 1657 for the various miracles attributed to him, and many cities in different countries such as Spain, Canada, Argentina, Costa Rica and São Raimundo Nonato in Brazil, among others, pay homage to him by bearing his name.
The life of Saint Raymond Nonnatus
Saint Raymond Nonnatus is a saint, canonised in the 17th century, from the Spanish region of Catalonia, he lived between 1204 and 1240, he is the patron saint of difficult births, pregnant women about to give birth, newborn babies, people dedicated to helping women in labour and prayers dedicated to him are effective in warding off evil thoughts and unhealthy gossip.
His nickname of Nonato, apparently his surname was Sarroy, is due to the fact that he was miraculously born alive by Caesarean section when his mother had already been dead for several hours, and he was given the name Ramón in reference to being protected by Divine Providence from birth.
He spent his early childhood with his father, a Spanish nobleman, in Catalonia, tending sheep and other domestic animals, until his religious vocation led him to join the Order of Mercy at the age of 18.
Saint Raymond Nonnatus spent much of his youth rescuing Christian slaves held captive by Muslims and other slavers, since he belonged to the Order of the Knights of Charity, whose main mission at the time was to rescue from captivity Catholics or Christians or those who had an affinity with the Roman religion.
In one of his missions of salvation, he gave his freedom in exchange for the liberation of a Christian prisoner in Algiers, capital of Algeria, on the African continent; this act earned him the cruel martyrdom of the Muslims, who were intolerant towards Catholics because they were Mohammedans, and since they could not tolerate that San Ramón Nonato preached among them and the slaves, they proceeded to whip him and to seal his mouth with a hot iron, putting a padlock on it, which they only opened to feed him.
St Peter Nolasco sent missionaries from the Order of the Knights of Mercy to pay his ransom and bring him back to Spain, when he was freed and, while in Catalonia, Pope Gregory IX granted him the title of Cardinal, he had previously been called Presbyter, in recognition of his devotion to preaching and his heroic acts in defence of the Holy Words when he was captured and martyred in Africa.
St Raymond Nonnatus died on 31 August 1240 in the Spanish region of Cardona, allegedly of a terrible fever, while travelling to Rome at the invitation of the Pope. He was canonised by Pope Alexander VII in 1657.
Saint Raymond Nonnatus Day
Traditionally, his feast day, or San Ramón Nonato Santoral, is celebrated on 31 August, although some places celebrate it in the last week of August, as in Puerto Rico and El Morro de Puerto Santo, in Venezuela, while others, such as Santa Cruz de Castrelo in Spain, celebrate it in the first week of September.
Pope Benedict XIV, pontiff from 1740 to 1758, proposed to abolish the feast of Saint Raymond Nonnatus because his researches had not found any real proof of the date of his birth. Despite this papal proposal, the feast of Saint Raymond Nonnatus has been a tradition since the 18th century, celebrated every year on 31 August or on the eve of that date, and on these days masses and other tributes are dedicated to Saint Raymond Nonnatus.
The miracles of San Raymond Nonnatus
The miracles of San Ramón Nonato are related to his power to protect women during childbirth, especially during difficult labour or when the mother and the unborn child are in danger. He is invoked when people, doctors, midwives or obstetricians, have to deal with pregnancy situations where the health of the woman or the child to be born is at risk. He is also a miraculous saint for people who are the object of slander, false testimony or unfounded accusations.
San Ramón Nonato also cares for newborn babies, protects people from gossip, strengthens the faith of those who, for various reasons, are wavering in their Christian faith, and is also considered to be the protector of domestic animals, such as pets and those that live on farms, estates and the like. His first miracles were to be born alive when his mother had died several hours before, and to survive the martyrdom inflicted on him by the Muslims.
San Ramón Nonato was a faithful devotee of the Virgin Mary, seeing in her the mother who had been taken away from him at the tragic moment of his birth. Because of his devotion to Mary, his deep love for Jesus Christ, the great sense of mercy that he showed from childhood, and the great empathy that he had for those who lived with him, he quickly earned the title of priest and then, when he was still very young, the dignity of Cardinal.
Church of San Ramón Nonato
There are several churches dedicated to San Ramón Nonato, in many countries, Spain, United States, Argentina, Costa Rica, Venezuela, among others, there are temples, chapels and sanctuaries where he is venerated. His place of pilgrimage is the church or convent of Sant Ramon de Portell, in Catalonia, Spain, the region where San Ramón Nonato was born and where, according to legend, the donkey that carried his body went.
When San Ramón Nonato died, his relatives, of course, claimed his remains, but also the representatives of the Church and of San Pedro Nolasco, founder of the Order of Mercy, to which he had long belonged; since they all claimed the right, for just reasons, to bury the remains of such a great saint in their lands, they proceeded to load the inert body on a donkey, and depending on the direction it took, that would be the final destination of his remains.
The donkey with the body of San Ramón Nonato went to the village of Portell, in Catalonia, making this village the main place of pilgrimage for those who consider themselves his followers.
The remains of San Ramón Nonato were taken to the village of Portell, in Catalonia, to the church of San Nicolás del Portell, where the convent of San Ramón del Portell was built in 1245. His remains disappeared in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, when Republican troops desecrated the enclosure and lost his sacred bones.
Prayer to San Ramón Nonato:
When we dedicate a prayer to San Ramón Nonato, we must take into account the grace we need and link it to some relevant aspect of this saint’s life, this in order to have a greater direction for our prayers; if we need his help with problems of pregnancy, childbirth, infant illnesses, slander or false accusations, San Ramón Nonato is the ideal saint who will relieve us of our problems if we have faith.
Birth prayer to St Raymond Nonnatus
Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of us all, before your venerable presence I come with my humble petition to ask you to grant your son, Saint Raymond Nonnatus, exalted saint, whom I always consider to be his heavenly mother and whom we venerate as the patron of difficult births, the grace to give me a normal birth.
San Ramón Nonato, you who came to this world in a miraculous way, who were always kind to the most humble, who in your earthly life showed great compassion for those who suffered cruel imprisonment, I ask you to help me in this most sublime moment that every woman has, to protect my baby who is about to be born, and to give me strength, faith and health so that I may see him or her grow, so that nothing bad may happen to me, and so that I may bring him or her up and lead him or her along the path of Christian duty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cor-cRQjnIU
San Ramón Nonato, perfect saint, tireless preacher, I ask for your help in this happy hour that is approaching, grant me the divine grace to see the birth of this beautiful being that I have carried in my womb without any setbacks, in these months of my sweet waiting, I believe in you, in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, in God, the Lord Creator of the Universe, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, and I thank you for listening to this simple prayer of mine. Amen.
What is the prayer to St Raymond Nonnatus for?
San Ramón Nonato is the saint who, because of his great devotion and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, serves us to console us when we feel that our faith is weakening, because in life he suffered martyrdom for not yielding in his preaching of the holy Catholic doctrine, he serves us when we are the object of false accusations, when we are slandered and when our fellow men spread gossip that harms us.
San Ramón Nonato is the saint who serves pregnant women in order to have a normal birth, because of the miraculous way in which he himself saw the light of the world; he also serves women at all times of their sweet waiting; he serves to protect newborns and infants, babies still being breastfed, when we consecrate baptisms to San Ramón Nonato; and the most sublime service that San Ramón Nonato offers us is to reunite us with God, because his usual preaching was to strengthen our faith.
Prayer to St Raymond Nonato to silence the gossips
O Lord! Almighty God, Creator of the heavens, the earth, the waters and all of us who inhabit this world, I ask You to continue to give Your blessings to my saint, San Ramón Nonato, so that through His pious goodness He may intercede for me and free me from the unhealthy gossip of bad people who only want to harm me, San Ramón Nonato, exalted saint, who with your constant Christian preaching has put down those who martyred you, I ask you to protect me from the gossip that is constantly being hurled at me.
San Ramón Nonato I ask you with this humble prayer that you take away from me those infamous gossips who harm my work, my relationships, I ask you from the bottom of my heart that these gossips and others stop gossiping, that they put in their mouths words of kindness and that when they speak about me they only speak the pure truth, that their cruel gossip does not continue to divide my family, that they seek God and stop being so envious of me, I am always with Jesus Christ, with his truth through which he has redeemed us from so many sins. Amen.
Prayer to St Raymond Nonnatus to silence the mouth
Today, dear Saint Raymond Nonnatus, I pray to you to express my deepest devotion and I ask the Blessed Virgin, who always gives you her holy love, to bless you as she has always done, and to God and Jesus Christ, I ask you to listen to the intercessions for my sinful soul, I know what you are doing, Saint Raymond Nonnatus, I ask you, in my humility, to silence the mouth that raises false testimonies against me and make it realise, in a wonderful way, its bad behaviour. Amen.
San Ramón Nonato, you, saint of my heart, who always had the courage to speak the truth, and for this reason I have a deep devotion to you, I ask you to silence the mouths that, with their false accusations, can make me fall into the cruel prisons of this country, saint of my faith, grant me liberation from people full of such bad faith, so that their mouths are silent, so that San Ramón Nonato no longer throws gossipy phrases at me, and that they express the holy truth. Amen.
Ritual of Saint Raymond Nonnatus to silence the gossips
Generally speaking, in the course of our lives we come across people who, out of envy or bad habits, tend to gossip against us, gossip that, framed in half-truths or sprinkled with inappropriate concepts, is capable of jeopardising our relationships with those we love, with those we relate to in our communities and, worst of all, can cause us to lose our jobs.
To silence such unhealthy gossip, it is appropriate to perform a small ritual associated with Saint Raymond Nonnatus, a saint who is able to silence evil tongues and false testimonies, and to pray the Rosary of the Virgin Mary to Saint Raymond Nonnatus, who was very devoted to our Holy Mother.
To do this, invoke him with a prayer to silence gossip, and with a picture of him, of St Raymond Nonnatus, or a bust representing him, put a chain with a small padlock on it, keep the key where no one can see it, leave the chain with the padlock for seven days, during which time ask him with great faith to silence the gossip against you. Then pray to the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ as icons of holy truth.
On each of these seven days, light a candle to San Ramón Nonato and pray to him for an end to gossip, asking that the bad people see the light that is in the Holy Word, that the gift of telling the truth be placed in their mouths, or that they simply stop gossiping. St Raymond Nonnatus is an effective saint in silencing gossip and freeing us from unfounded accusations.
Prayer to St Raymond Nonnatus for problems
This prayer to San Ramón Nonato is appropriate when we are in trouble because of false accusations, when problems caused by gossip and hearsay put us in situations that bring us to the brink of prison, or try to break our precious family relationships, friendships, or make us unemployed, because San Ramón Nonato, as a good lawyer, frees us from the lies that are spoken against us.
San Ramón Nonato, as your faithful follower, I come before you, before your San Ramón Nonato prayer card, to humbly ask you to free me from this serious problem that some bad people have put me in, help me, you who were able to free yourself from your captors by telling the truth, convert those who called themselves atheists into Catholic Christians, San Ramón Nonato, come to my aid to free me from this problem that tortures my being and breaks my spirit, let our Saviour intercede for me and free me from this serious problem. Amen.
Prayer to St Raymond Nonato to become pregnant
O most holy Virgin, Mother of us and of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, most holy Virgin, Mother of us and of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, give your holy son San Ramón Nonato the marvellous permission to intercede for me, San Ramón Nonato, holy and faithful devotee of our most holy Virgin, I humbly invoke your venerable Spirit to grant me the privilege of becoming pregnant, for you are the saint who managed to be born before deep sleep overcame him, as it fatally overcame your dying mother, who attained immortality in her childbirth. Amen.
San Ramón Nonato, exalted saint, with this simple prayer I ask you to allow me to bring into the world a new being who will know your Christian devotion, give me the joy of being pregnant, so that my family may grow physically and spiritually in the holy word that you constantly preach, San Ramón Nonato, holy and saintly, patron saint of childbirth, listen to my prayers and I may be with my husband in sweet expectation. Amen.
Novena to Saint Raymond Nonnatus
This novena to San Ramón Nonato is especially dedicated to women who are predicted to have a difficult birth, San Ramón Nonato, as the patron saint of difficult births, is able to help women who are going to give birth so that this wonderful moment is free of problems, he is the saint to whom we should direct our prayers in times of caesarean sections and also when we, whether we are obstetricians or not, see the need to help a woman in labour.
Here you can see a video of the novena of San Ramón Nonato for pregnant women:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8eLna7MpjM
