St. Louis Bertrand
Feast Day: October 9
Louis became a Dominican at 18 and was ordained a priest in 1547.
He was novice-master in his native Spain on and off for 30 years and gained a reputation for holiness by caring for plague victims in Valencia in 1557.
In 1562, he went as a missionary to the Caribbean, working in Colombia, and the Leeward, Virgin and Windward Islands for six years.
His apostolic zeal, aided by the gift of tongues and other miraculous events, resulted in 15,000 conversions among the Indian populations.
After he returned to Spain, he trained preachers for the missions, saying the only effective preparation was humble and fervent prayer.
He was canonized in 1671 and is the principal patron saint of Colombia.
