<p>St. Raymond of Penafort was born in a small town near Barcelona around 1175.&nbsp; He was educated in Barcelona and at the University of Bologna, where he received his doctorates in both civil and Canon law.&nbsp; From 1195 to 1210 he taught Canon law.&nbsp; In 1210 he moved to Bologna, where he remained until 1222, including three years occupying the Chair of Canon law at the University.&nbsp; He was the Chaplain to Pope Alexander IV, and the Confessor of King James I of Aragon. &nbsp; Later that year, he joined the Dominican Order. &nbsp;</p> <p>Raymond returned to the Iberian Peninsula in 1236, and was made Master of the Order of Preachers in 1238.&nbsp; During his tenure he revised the Dominican Constitutions.&nbsp; After the age of sixty, he retired in Barcelona.&nbsp; He was instrumental in founding the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. &nbsp;</p> <p>Knowing Raymond&rsquo;s reputation in the juridical sciences, Pope Gregory IX summoned him to Rome in 1230, to help in the rearranging and codifying of Canon Law.&nbsp; Canon laws, which were previously found scattered in many publications, were to be organized into one set of documents.&nbsp; Once finished, with the great work and efforts of Raymond, the Pope announced the new publication in a Bull directed to the doctors and students of Paris and Bologna in 1231, commanding that Raymond alone should be considered authoritative, and should alone be used in the schools.&nbsp; His collection of Canon law known as the &ldquo;Decretals of Gregory IX&rdquo; became a standard for almost 700 years.&nbsp; When Raymond completed his work, the Pope appointed him Archbishop of Tarragona, but he declined the honor.&nbsp; Raymond followed this with the publication of a work on penitential discipline, &ldquo;Summa Casuum&rdquo;, which is widely considered an authoritative work on the subject, even today.&nbsp; Canon law was finally and fully codified by 1917. &nbsp;</p> <p>St. Raymond died in 1275, and was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in the year 1601.&nbsp; He is buried in the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, in Barcelona. &nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></span></p> <p>St. Raymond was a Dominican Priest, who was very gifted in the science of law.&nbsp; He earned a Doctorate in both Civil and Canon Law.&nbsp; He taught at the University of Bologna, and was summoned by Pope Gregory IX to Rome, to help codify the Canon law.&nbsp; Up until then each Pope had made changes, and they were scattered about in many places.&nbsp; He put them all in one publication, and it was the standard for over 700 years thereafter.&nbsp; He died in 1275, and was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1601.&nbsp; He is buried in the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, in Barcelona. &nbsp;</p>