Alphonsus Rodriguez (1532- 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit lay brother from Segovia. He is also named Alonso Rodriguez. He was a son of a wool merchant and at the age of 12, he lost his father and took all the responsibilities to run the family along with his mother. At the age of 26, he married Maria Suarez and they had three children. At the age of 31, he found himself a widower with one surviving child, the other two having died. From that time he began a life of prayer and meditation.
He wanted to enter a religious order. But during that time it was very difficult to enter a religious order. But he could enter the Jesuit order as a lay brother. After six months he was sent to the recently founded college in Majorca, where he remained in a humble position of porter for 46years. He did his duties and responsibilities in a better way and he used to lead a spiritual life and spent his time maximum in meditation whenever he got the free time. He made his final vows in 1585 at the age of 54.
Rodriguez became very feeble when he reached his 80s. But he had a deep devotion to Our Lady. He died on October 31. He was canonized by Pope Leo XII in September 1888.