April 13
Hermenegild (†580)
religious
Practical advice
With simplicity and joy, prudently fulfill a responsibility that others have entrusted to you without seeking applause or recognition.
Biography
Son of Leovigildo, king of the Spanish Visigoths, and brother of Recaredo. He married Ingonda, daughter of Sigibert of Austrasia, who was Catholic and who, over time, would help him convert to Catholicism. His conversion irritated his father who pressured him to return to Arianism. A war was then declared between the two, until Hermenegildo surrendered, with the promise of forgiveness. They tried again to convince him to renounce Catholicism and he again refused. That day he refused to receive communion from an Arian bishop. Then a certain Sisberto, by order of the king, his father, beheaded him.