Hermenegildo was a prince of the Visigothic Kingdom who was killed for his belief in the Holy Trinity. His royal family followed Arianism, which taught that God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son are not one but two. But as Hermenegildo grew up, he realized the flaws of Arianism. He later converted to Catholicism and endured the persecution of his stepmother, who was an ardent Arian believer.
His father, King Liuvigild, persecuted Hispanian Catholics. Unable to bear this, he fought with the sword to protect his Christian brothers and seize power. For this, Hermenegildo allied with the Byzantines. Thus, after a long five-year war, Hermenegildo was deported to Tarragona, defeated by his father. There he refused to receive Holy Communion from a fanatical Arian bishop. Hermenegildo did not stand for a creed that distorted the Holy Trinity. He was beheaded for professing to be a Catholic.
Later, in 586, Hermenegildo’s father died and Hermenegildo’s brother, Ricardo, enthroned as king. The new ruler, who, like his brother, converted to Catholicism, led the people of Spain to Catholicism. The Catholic faith and martyrdom of the saint and his brother were a great step towards the Christian faith in Spain.
In 1585, Philip II the King of Spain asked Pope Sixtus V to place the martyrdom of Hermenegildo in the canon of the Church. Thus he was canonized in 1639. April 13 is his death anniversary. But a century later, the saint became known as the ‘Martyr of Conversion’.