St. Raymond of Pentafort O.P., Patron of Lawyers, Dominican Rite and Chant

St. Raymond of Pentafort, Order of Preachers lived for a century through two centuries from 1176 to 1276. He was born in Pentafort, a small town near Barcelona, Spain, St. Raymond studied both Church Law, or Canon Law, Canon is the Greek word for law, and Civil Law at the University of Bologna, Italy reknown for its law faculty. He remained to teach law for fourteen years subsequently.  St. Raymond was spiritually impressed by the Prior, a Blessed, at the Dominican Priory and took the Dominican habit at the age of 47. St. Raymond, a legal luminary, was enlisted by Pope Gregory to collect and organize papal decrees down through the centuries concerning the faith and morals of the Church in to a unified code of Canon Law, or Decretals. Elected the third Master General of the Order after St. Dominic, St. Raymond called a general chapter selecting the simple rule of St. Augustine and amending the rules of Dominican Common Life. St. Raymond was devoted to the Sacrament of Penance as a Dominican Preacher and Canon Lawyer. As a Dominican, he encouraged the conversions of Jews, Cathars and Moors through public debate and doctrinal preaching rather than torture and the sword. He help found the Order of Merciderians dedicated to freeing Christian slaves of Moors.