Homobonus is one of those rare persons who were canonized without ever having been a virgin, a martyr, or a member of the clergy or any religious order whatsoever. Homobonus was a merchant. He lived in the 12th century in what is present-day Italy, and his name, translated from the Latin, simply means “good man.”

The secret to his sanctity–though described at length by Butler–comes down to this one principle, that I believe needs no elaboration:

Homobonus refused to rationalize ever charging customers a penny more than was necessary for him to make a humble, adequate living.