Baldassare Diego Loyola
Baldassare Diego Loyola | |
|---|---|
Portrait at the Jesuit Convent in Toulouse, c. 1670 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 27 December 1663 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Muhammad el-Attaz 1631 |
| Died | 15 September 1667 (aged 35–36) |
| Denomination | Sunni Islam (until 1656) Roman Catholicism (from 1656) |
Baldassare Diego Loyola (1631–1667), born Muhammad el-Attaz, was a Moroccan prince of the Saadi dynasty who converted from Islam to Roman Catholicism and became a Jesuit priest. In 1651, he was captured by the Knights Hospitaller and he was enslaved in Malta until 1656. After being ransomed and freed, he converted, became a priest and devoted himself to the evangelisation of Muslims in Italy. He wanted to become a missionary, but he died in Spain before he was able to make the journey to his intended destination of India.