ILDEPHONSUS of Toledo, St. — Archbishop of Toledo, born in Toledo in 617, died there on 23 January 667. He was called "The Chaplain of the Virgin" in the play of that title composed by Lope de Vega about him, a name derived from his principal work, De virginitate Sanctae Mariae contra tres infideles, which laid the foundation for all subsequent Spanish Marian literature.
He was a monk and abbot in the monastery of SS. Cosmas and Damian at Agali, near Toledo, renowned for producing a series of bishops and abbots for the Spanish Church who stand out in history. Towards the end of 657, an order from King Recceswinth removed him from this retirement to elevate him to the metropolitan see of Toledo. His episcopal and literary activity lasted a decade. His successor in the see, St. Julian of Toledo, lovingly compiled a catalogue of his works: the first is the one already mentioned, the Libellus de virginitate Sanctae Mariae contra tres infideles, a theological controversy directed especially against the Jews. This is followed by the Liber in cognitione Baptismi unus, of exceptional importance for the history of the catechumenate and the liturgy of Baptism in Spain; the De progressu spiritualis deserti, a complement to the previous work, expounding the progress of the baptised through the spiritual life to the kingdom of God by means of the allegory of the Hebrew people wandering in the desert until they reached the Promised Land; and the De viris inlustribus, fourteen biographies devoted to Spanish personalities, particularly from Toledo. With this work, Ildephonsus continued the work of St. Isidore of the same title.
