Mi-Pe
St.
Paul Miki, S. J. (Japanese: 1564-1597) was the first Japanese
member of any Catholic Religious order, and had it not been for his martyrdom,
he would have been the first Japanese priest. After Francis
Xavier's death Christianity in Japan developed so rapidly that by 1592 the
number of Christians had grown to 200,000. Because several influential
political leaders had become converts, and because the rulers had been
favorably disposed to Christianity, the Jesuit mission prospered. In 1587,
however, this all suddenly changed because the Buddhists feared this increase
was precursor for a Spanish take-over, so all missionaries were ordered out of
Japan. A few Jesuits obeyed the edict and left the country, but most of them
remained and went undercover so as to continue to serve and be with the
Catholics as their Jesuit companions had done in England, outwitting - at
least for a time - Queen Elizabeth's Inquisition.
Paul Miki was the son of a well-to-do Japanese military chief, living near
Kyoto, and as such had the right to wear the bright, noble kimono of the
Samurai. Even as a Scholastic, before ordination, he proved himself to be an
excellent disputant with Buddhist leaders. He was recognized as an eloquent
speaker who preached with such fervor and eloquence that he converted many
listeners who were not Christians. Just a few months before his ordination to
the priesthood, he was arrested with two companions. A few weeks later the
three Jesuits were crucified along with 23 other Christians. Bystanders
described Miki's remarkable composure during this ordeal dressed in his Jesuit
cassock (although he had the right to dress as a Samurai) and delivering one
last sermon from the cross there in Nagasaki in 1597. Miki was not only the first
religious but also the first martyr of Japan. (Ban, Cor, Ham, JLx,
Som, Tyl)
Luis de
Molina, S.J. (Spanish: 1535-1600) was one of the most able of all Jesuit
theologians. His book Concordia liberi arbitrii cum gratiae donis
was attacked by the Dominican theologian, Domingo Baez. Jesuits feared the
Dominican teaching would lead to Calvinism while the Dominicans felt the
Jesuits leaned toward Pelagianism. The dispute lasted until Pope Paul V
brought the dispute on Free Will to a close by a compromise decision,
censuring neither side. Superiors of both sides made heroic efforts to find
mutual understanding and charity. Luis attempted to clarify his doctrine and
to dispel the misgivings of his adversaries in a work which provoked one of
the fiercest and most persistent theological controversies in the
post-Reformation Roman Catholic church and gave rise to Molinism
, a system which attempted to reconcile grace and freewill and which was
adopted in its essential points by the Society of Jesus (Ward briefly
summarizes Molina's argument: "all human beings are endowed with equal
and sufficient divine grace without distinction as to their individual merits,
and that salvation depends on the sinner's willingness to receive
grace"). It proved to be the most fateful and provocative work the
Society ever published and led to the greatest outpouring of metaphysical and
theological energy in the history of modern Catholic thought. The strength of
opposition, notably that of the Dominicans, to Molina's doctrine ultimately
forced Pope Clement VIII to appoint, in 1598, the "Congregario de
auxiliis' to settle the dispute. Agreement proved impossible; in 1607 Paul V
suspended its meetings, and in 1611 he forbade all further discussion of the
question. (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
Henry Morse, S.J. (English: 1595-1645) grew up as a Protestant, became a Catholic, joined
the Jesuits and then was sent to the English mission where he worked for four
years in a very poor district outside London. A plague broke out at the time
causing a great panic. Henry went around administering the sacraments, finding
medicine for the sick and preparing the dead for burial. During this time he
himself fell victim to the plague three times. But then he was recognized by
priest-hunters, arrested, charged with persuading Protestants to leave their
faith. He was released because of his work with the plague victims and when he
returned to his pastoral work in a different area, he was arrested several
times but escaped. Finally he was caught, brought to Tyburn where he was
hanged, drawn and quartered. He spoke to those present at his execution.
"I am come hither to die for my religion. I have a secret which highly
concerns His Majesty and Parliament to know. The kingdom of England will never
be truly blessed until it returns to the Catholic faith and its subjects are
all united in one belief under the Bishop of Rome. I pray that my death may be
some kind of atonement for the sins of this kingdom." (Ban, Bas, Ham, JLx,
Som, Tyl)
Philip
Mulcaille, S.J. (Irish: 1727-1801) founded schools for poor Irish
youngsters and continued to work in them long after the Suppression of the
Society. Education was always an integral and prominent element of the
Society's mission but the conditions of life in 17th and 18th century in
Ireland did not allow the Jesuits to run their schools there in the same way
as those on the continent. Saint Ignatius had specified in his Constitutions
(#451): "Reading and writing should not ordinarily be taught, because the
Society was limited in numbers and could not attend to everything."
Philip was concerned about basic education, not having the luxury of a ready
supply of youngsters who were already able to read and write and take on the
challenges of the regular Jesuit curricula. A Protestant Divine, Doctor Blake,
described his memories of Philip. "The classic elegance, the attic taste,
the chaste refinement, the placid virtue and the Gospel simplicity of . . .
the learned and venerable Mulcaille". Philip had continued to work for
many years under intense pressure such that, in his own words, "Between a
confessional, a pulpit and a school, and the care of a parish and a number of
other daily avocations I am day after day at the oar, rowing for life."
Among his concerns was the promotion of education for poor girls and he played
a large part in encouraging the foundation of the Presentation Convent for
this purpose in his parish. (McR)
Jerome Nadal,
S.J. (Spanish: 1507-1580) was one of the First Ten Companions of Ignatius.
It was he whom Ignatius sent to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Austria in
order to promulgate the Constitutions of the Society. He founded many schools
and was an official visitor to many provinces. Ignatius entrusted to Jerome
Nadal the work of publishing a famous book of pictures to help in the
contemplations of the Spiritual Exercises. He did this by taking advantage of
the newly discovered perspective geometry which enabled three-dimensional
shapes to be displayed in the two-dimensional pages of books helped bring
about the scientific revolution. These pictures provided photographic accuracy
that paved the way for daVinci's technology and Galileo's science. Ignatius
made the connection between these mechanical sketches and gospel images. He
commissioned his vicar Jerome Nadal to find highly motivated artists and
printers who knew how to draw realistic perspective pictures of the gospel
stories and print them in books. Jerome also realized these new opportunities
and set out to find artists and printers who knew how to draw and print these
pictures. He found a willing and generous helper in the Antwerp publisher,
Christopher Plantin, who pledged his effort and his capital. Together they
spent the rest of their lives at the task.
In 1593 appeared Jerome's book Evangelical historiae imagines (Pictures
of the Gospel Stories) which has been called "One of the most
remarkable Counterreformation publications of the late sixteenth
century." Charles Sommervogel's Jesuit Bibliography {Vol. 5 p. 1519}
counts 153 engravings in Jerome's book. Perspective geometry and art arrived
in China along with Matteo Ricci who carried along Jerome's Imagines
as an aid for teaching the gospel message. Matteo praised Jerome's work:
"This book is of even greater use than the Bible in the sense that while
we are talking to potential converts, we can also place right in front of
their eyes things that with words alone we would not be able to make
clear." With the collaboration of Chinese artists Matteo duplicated
Jerome's images adapting them for a Chinese readership, using oriental facial
features. Then he brought these perspective images of science, technology and
the gospel stories to the imperial court at Beijing in 1601, hoping to
convince the emperor of the truths of Christianity. In doing so, he introduced
perspective geometry to the Chinese. (Ban, Ham, JLx, O'M, Som)
Leonard Neale,
S.J. (American: 1747-1817) was an educator from a large Maryland family;
of seven brothers in the Neale family, six joined the Society. Two died
prematurely, but four became priests and Leonard became Baltimore's archbishop
succeeding John Carroll. Both were concerned about the restoration of the
Jesuits as well as the apostolate of education and took the initiative in
starting Georgetown University.
Among the hierarchy there was a serious reevaluation of Clement IV's decision
to suppress the Jesuits. Cardinal Pacca in his Memoirs about his own
misinformation and prejudices offers a valuable clue to the Suppression.
The Pope (Clement IV) had had anti-Jesuit masters and teachers who had
inculcated maxims and opinions altogether opposed to those of the Society; and
everyone knows how deep are the impressions made by early teaching. I, too,
had been taught in my youth to nourish against the Order feelings of aversion
and hatred which amounted even to fanaticism. Suffice it to say that I was
given Pascal's famous Provincial Letters . . . and other books of a similar
kind. I was in perfect good faith about these books and had not a shadow of a
doubt as to their truth and accuracy.
A great many bishops missed the Society and found, in the aftermath of the
French Revolution, how much they needed its special skills and became more
impatient than ex-Jesuits for the restoration of the Jesuit Order. In 1788
Leonard drew up a petition for himself and 12 other ex-Jesuits in Maryland to
organize a link between themselves and the Jesuits in Russia. After the
restoration he considered resigning as bishop to take up again his vocation in
the restored Society, but considered the needs of the infant American Church.
Nevertheless he spent much of his energy trying to accelerate the restoration
in spite of his observation about the increasing age of the surviving
ex-Jesuits. "All members of the Society here are now grown old, the
youngest being past 54. Death, therefore, holds out his threatening rod.''
(Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
Francis Neumayr,
S.J. (German: 1697-1765) taught rhetoric and drama. Besides being an
indefatigable teacher, he was also a preacher and moderator of sodalities in
Munich. He kept up the Jesuit dramatic tradition by annually staging
productions of the Munich Sodality which he published in two large volumes,
under the title The Drama of Asceticism . He also produced more
than 100 other works on spiritual subjects, some with engaging titles as Melancholy's
Remedy and The Uprooting of Sloth . (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
John Nidhard,
S.J. (Austrian: 1607-1681) served as confessor to Mariana of Austria, the
queen mother to the four-year-old Charles II of Spain. Foolishly, she made
John a member of the Council of State, the inquisitor general, and in effect,
the prime minister. It was a position that was embarrassing to John who felt
at home only with philosophy and canon law. It was a bigger problem for the
Society. John did not have the qualities needed to be head of state, and being
an Austrian was suspect in the eyes of the Spanish people. Don John of Austria
came to the rescue by causing such an uproar against this foreigner John
Nidhard, that he left Spain, moved to Rome where he was made a cardinal by
Pope Clement X. (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
Eusebio
Nieremberg, S.J. (Spanish: 1595-1658) taught philosophy and theology in
Madrid. He was sought out as a spiritual director and had a great number of
regular penitents. Eusebio was an author of very influential spiritual tracts
and books; perhaps the best known of his 56 works was his 1640 book Time
and Eternity which has been compared to John Gerson's The
Imitation of Christ . Eusebio's classic is known popularly by the
author's first name: "The Eusebio". (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
Robert de
Nobili, S.J. (Italian: 1577-1656) was a brilliant member of the Roman
nobility who was sent to work in Madurai in India. He quickly learned Tamil
and adapted himself to the Indian culture.
As a nobleman he was judged the equivalent of an Indian rajah, which enabled
him to move about with much more freedom than other missionaries. He convinced
the Roman authorities that his many converts should not be forced to abandon
the signs of their caste. In 1613 a Portuguese provincial superior,
unsympathetic to his methods ordered him to cease baptizing, but this edict
was later countermanded by Superior General Aquaviva. The storm did not end
there, however, and in 1618 a bishops' conference in Goa again condemned
Robert. This decision was overturned by Pope Gregory XV who approved Robert's
methods. After 39 years of work among the people of Madurai he witnessed the
number of Christians grow from zero to more than 4,000. (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som,
Tyl)
Emmanuel
Nobrega, S.J. (Portuguese: 1517-1570) was a remarkable missionary who
first encountered the natives of Bahia and Săo Paulo with four Jesuit
companions. He is called Brazil's greatest early political figure. Upon his
arrival in the New World, he told his companions: "This land is our
enterprise". The daring and optimism of the Brazilian Mission were read
in the sails of his ship: Unus non sufficit orbis (One world is
not big enough). He also founded Salvador in Bahia in 1549 and with Bl. Joseph
Anchieta, S.J. co-founded Săo Paulo in 1554 and Rio de Janeiro in 1565. He
also established colleges that were giving Master's degrees by 1578. (Ban, DSB,
JLx, O'M, Som)
Charles de
Noyelle, S.J. (French: 1615-1686) served as the twelfth Superior General
of the Society and the only one of the 29 generals apart from Ignatius Loyola
who was chosen unanimously. He held the office for only four years, but these
were terribly agonizing years. He had to endure continual and merciless
pressure from the Spanish Hapsburgs and the French Bourbons: the latter's
pressure was intensified by the Jesuit confessor of Louis XIV, François de la
Chaize. When Louis XIV ordered that the Gallican Articles be taught in all
Jesuit colleges attached to universities, Charles wrote emphatically to François
de la Chaize: "Never shall I permit a Jesuit to teach anything
disapproved by the supreme pontiff." (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
St. John
Ogilvie, S. J. (Scottish: 1579-1615) is the Church's only officially
recorded Scottish martyr. Since his father had conformed to the
state-established religion, young John was brought up a Calvinist. Upon
reaching his 17th year, he determined to become a Catholic and went to Louvain,
Belgium, where he was reconciled with the Catholic Church. He later joined the
Jesuits and was ordained in Paris in 1610. Sent to work in Rouen, he kept
importuning the Superior General to send him back to Scotland in response to
the entreaty for Jesuits from the Earl of Angus to the Jesuit General:
"Send only those who wish for this mission and are strong enough to bear
the heat of the day for they will be in exceeding danger." In earlier
times wholesale massacres of Catholics had taken place in Scotland but at this
time the hunt concentrated on priests and for those who attended their Masses.
The Jesuits were determined not to abandon the Catholic laity, but to be with
them and provide the consolation of the sacraments. When captured they were
tortured for information, then hanged, and, while still alive, taken down and
their limbs pulled out and finally cut up into quarters and each part placed
on one of the four city gates.
At last Ogilvie's request was granted and he returned to his native Scotland
in 1613 to begin a brief missionary career that lasted only 11 months and
ended in martyrdom. In Edinburgh and Glasgow he worked underground avoiding
the Queen's priest-hunters, disguised as a soldier by the name of Watson.
Ogilvie was captured and put in prison where he showed his interrogators that
he was not to be bullied into acknowledging the King's supremacy in religious
matters. He refused to divulge the names of the Catholics who had attended his
Masses, so they applied an extreme measure of torture. He annoyed his
tormentors by not crying out in pain and in fact meeting their cruelty with
humor. "I make no account of you and can willingly suffer more for this
cause than you are able to inflict. Your threats cheer me; I mind them no more
than the cackling of geese." Asked if he feared to die he said: "no
more than you do to dine." No relic of his body remains. (Ban, Bas, Cor,
Ham, JLx, Som, Tyl)
Bl.
Edward Oldcorne, S.J. (English: 1561-1606) labored in the English mission
in Worcestershire for 16 years where many came to him for encouragement. He
developed cancer of the throat, but he kept preaching even though it was quite
painful. Edward made a pilgrimage to St. Winifred's shrine in Flintshire to
seek a cure which was granted and his cancer was healed. He returned stronger
and healthier than before. Then he fell victim to the "Gunpowder
Plot" which was a foolish conspiracy to blow up the king and parliament.
It was hatched by a small group of Catholic Englishmen who were frustrated by
their Protestant rulers; all it did was provide an opportunity to renew
persecution of Catholics and thereby to involve Jesuits. Edward was arrested,
falsely accused and placed on the rack for five days to find names of the
perpetrators and sympathizers in the plot. The rack master got no information.
Edward was hanged and quartered along with another Jesuit, Brother Ralph
Ashley. (Ban, Bas, Tan, Tyl)
John Paul Oliva,
S.J. (Italian: 1600-1681) served as the eleventh Superior General of the
Society. John Paul loved the fine arts and identified the Jesuits of Rome with
the fullness of the baroque style. He sponsored three great artistic
achievements: the completion of the church of Sant' Andrea al Quirinale; the
adornment of the interior of the Gesů Church and decoration of Saint Ignatius
Church. The great artist, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini and John Paul Oliva were
close personal friends and Bernini provided a number of illustrations for an
edition of John Paul's sermons. Given a free hand at Sant' Andrea, Bernini
created one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Rome. John Paul then
commissioned Giovanni Battista Gaulli to decorate the austere Gesů where
Gaulli produced a magnificent fresco along the nave representsThe
Triumph of the Holy Name of Jesus . Brother Andrea Pozzo executed the
spectacular perspective painting of the worldwide Jesuit apostolate on the
ceiling of Saint Ignatius Church. (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
St.
Nicholas Owen, S.J. (English: ?-1606) was a Coadjutor Brother who was a
mason and carpenter by trade, and who wonderfully used these talents
creatively in the service of the persecuted Church in England. His ingenuity
saved hundreds of priests from capture by the persistent bounty hunters
operating during the Elizabethan inquisition. Nicholas' cleverness provided
priests with safe refuge from these priest-hunters. Of his three brothers, two
became priests and one became a printer of underground Catholic books and
printed material for the Jesuits. Nicholas' early Jesuit companion was Edmund
Campion and Nicholas was arrested when he spoke openly of Campion's innocence.
Nicholas later was released; he then contacted Henry Garnet and became his
associate. In time the priest hunters got to know Nicholas as "Garnet's
man", while the priests knew him as "Little John". Nicholas
constructed hiding places in the various mansions used as priest-centers
throughout England. During the day he worked on either the interior or the
exterior of the building, but always in public view so that the servants would
think that he was a hired carpenter. During the evening and night, however, he
worked on his concealed rooms, digging deep into the earth or chipping through
thick stone walls. He always worked alone to insure secrecy. Only he and the
owner of the house knew where the secret rooms were located. Nicholas had no
formal novitiate, but he received his religious training in his close
collaboration with his superior. In 1594, he was helping John Gerard in a
London residence when both were arrested and taken to the Counter prison.
Nicholas was still unknown as the mastermind behind the hiding places and was
considered but a small fish in the vast ocean of Catholic disobedience. He was
released and immediately returned to his inventive labors. Eventually Nicholas
was again captured and brought to the Tower for intense torture so that the
priest hunters could learn the location of his many hiding places. His silence
infuriated his tormentors who increased his unspeakable suffering until it
caused his death. The Elizabethan inquisitors learned nothing from him. John
Gerard said of Nicholas that none other among the Jesuits had rendered such
valuable service to the Catholic cause in England, "since, through his
skill and ingenuity in devising places of concealment, he had saved the lives
of hundreds of people." (Ban, Bas, Cor, JLx, Tyl)
Bl. Francis Pacheco, S.J. (Portugal:
1565-1626) was a missionary to China and Japan. On his third entrance into
Japan made in disguise, Francis was captured by the Shogun's many spies and
put in a prison with other Jesuits, catechists, and lay people. Among them
were some young men preparing to enter the Society, and, with martyrdom
imminent, Pacheco permitted them to make their vows. In 1626 they all suffered
martyrdom at Nagasaki. Francis was the most experienced of all the 33 Jesuits
who were martyred in Japan during the great persecution between 1617 and 1626.
During these terrible years he saw thousands of Christians deny their Faith
for fear of torture but he also saw thousands endure the death by slow fire.
There during the next six months he formed a quasi-religious community of the
fellow prisoners with regular periods of fast and prayers to strengthen
themselves against the inevitable ordeal ahead. The laymen were taken last in
the hopes that they would change their minds, but they were only strengthened
in their resolve. (Cor, Ham, JLx, Som, Tyl)
Peter
Páez, S.J. (Spanish: 1564-1622) was a missionary to Ethiopia. This
favorite mission of Ignatius took a heavy toll of Jesuit lives and had a
tragic ending. During its 85-year history, 1554-1639, 20 of the 56 Jesuits who
tried to enter the country perished. Upon his arrival, Peter was captured by
Muslims and condemned to six years in galleys. During this time he learned
several languages. Peter entered Ethiopia a second time disguised as an
Armenian merchant and then worked as a stone-mason. He composed a two-volume
history of Ethiopia, and is said to have been the first European to reach the
sources of the Nile. Eventually he was received into the court of the negus,
Za-Denghal, whom he converted. This ruler, however, was assassinated shortly
after his conversion. Then Paez convinced the next negus, Socinios, that
Monophysitism (only one nature in Christ) was inconsistent with Christianity.
When Socinios announced his conviction of the two natures in Christ, a revolt
spread throughout the country thus endangering the promulgation of Catholic
doctrine in Ethiopia and the reunion of the Abyssinian church with Rome. A
Catholic Patriarch was sent from Rome to work with the now-Catholic Socinios
to make the union with Rome succeed, but after the deaths of Paez and Socinios
the succeeding negus forbade any more contact with Rome. This had less to do
with adhesion to any theological convictions than to the very pragmatic fact
that independence from Rome meant that this new negus was free to keep his
harem and also that the leading merchants and politicians of Ethiopia would
experience no restraint upon their tradition of polygamy. Up to this time
resentments had been smoldering, but the new negus openly unleashed the fierce
opposition to the prospect of the country's leaders being forced to adhere to
the strict Catholic moral code. During the transition two Jesuits were stabbed
to death, five hanged and the Patriarch fled the country. (Ban, JLx, Som)
Bl.
Francis Page, S.J. (Belgian: ?-1602) belonged to a wealthy Protestant
family, studied law and became a clerk for a Catholic lawyer. Francis fell in
love with his employer's daughter, but she would not hear of marriage until
Francis became a Catholic. He knew John Gerard, S.J., who was in London's
Clink Prison at the time. He went to John for instruction, called off the
marriage and decided to become a Jesuit. After ordination he returned to
England, managed to elude the priest-hunters for a few years but was captured
and brought to Newgate prison. Francis pointed out that he did not come under
England's law since he was born in Antwerp not in England. Nevertheless he was
found guilty of high treason and condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
(Bas, Tan, Tyl)
Dominic
Parrenin, S.J. (French: 1618-1679) in collaboration with five other Jesuit
cartographers constructed the famous 1735 "Jesuit Map" of China,
Manchuria, and Mongolia. Some emperors, because of their respect for the
learned Jesuits, allowed Jesuits to live in China and maintain a church. Even
during the persecution of the Church, Jesuits such as Dominic were allowed to
continue their work. Possessing a robust constitution, a dignified and
majestic appearance, a facility with the different Chinese dialects, a
vigorous spirit, an amazing memory and prodigious amount of learning Dominic
labored in China for 43 years. (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
Peter Pázmany, S.J. (Hungarian: 1570-1637) was known as the
creator of the philosophical and theological language of Hungary . His
sermons were said to have been very moving and his writings have become a
landmark in the history of Hungarian literature. Both Hungary and
Czechoslovakia claim him, and often compete with each other in honoring him
with commemorative stamps. He was the founder of the Jesuit University
of Trnava , which was the first Hungarian university. It is claimed as
an original foundation both by Trnava University located in Czechoslovakia and
the University of Budapest located in Hungary.
The Jesuits worked in Hungary from the earliest years of the Society, from
1561. 
There were three early Jesuit
versions of Peter the Great : Peter Canisius in Germany, Peter
Skarga in Poland and Peter Pázmány in Hungary. The latter, preserved the
Faith in his country according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. "By far the
greatest figure of the age was Peter Cardinal Pázmany, S.J., a former
Protestant who became Catholicism's most zealous and most brilliant leader.
Almost single-handedly he reconverted the greater part of Hungary to
Catholicism." Just when whole families were leaving the Church he came to
the rescue. He created a philosophical and theological language for Hungary.
In 1616 Pope Paul V circumvented the Jesuit prohibition against ecclesiastical
honors and made Peter Pázmány Cardinal and the primate of Hungary. Peter,
however, entrusted to his fellow Jesuits two colleges, a university and a
seminary.
By the time the Society was suppressed in 1773 the Hungarian province numbered
1,000 men in 52 houses, directing 32 colleges and 7 Centers of Higher
Education. After the Suppression most of these schools continued to operate
some were taken over by the government and some by other Religious Orders.
Jesuits had labored for a long time in an area devastated and sacked for 150
years by the Turks and divided by religious wars. Still carrying on Peter's
legacy, in this century the Hungarian Jesuits labored to prepare an elite core
of Catholic intellectuals as part of a wider campaign to check the spread of
totalitarism and anti-religious teaching. (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)
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Robert Persons, S.J. (English:
1546-1610) had to give up his teaching position at Oxford University, because
he was a Catholic. He left England, entered the Society of Jesus and returned
to England in disguise to assist the persecuted Catholics. He was especially
irritated at the humiliating policy that the Catholics had to send their
children to Protestant schools at their own expense. Robert became one of the
foremost English Jesuits in the late 16th century. He had managed to escape
back to the continent after the arrest of Edmund Campion; then he went to
Spain in 1588, where he founded several seminaries for the training of English
priests and was active at the court of Philip II. Written under the pseudonym
'Philopater', his responsio (responce) attacked the proclamation
of Queen Elizabeth condemning Jesuits for trying to reinstate the Catholic
Faith in England. Robert directed his invective against the Queen herself and
elaborated on the pope's power to depose heretical sovereigns. It was because
of this that his responsio is usually regarded as the most
extreme evidence of exile opposition to Elizabeth and of the policies of those
who believed that the hope of Catholicism in England depended on foreign
intervention. When he returned to England he experienced the efficiency of the
English government spy system, was captured and executed. (Ban, Bas, Cor, Ham,
JLx, Som)
Dennis Petau,
S.J. (French: 1583-1652) was a prince among scholars: he had mastered
Latin and Greek at the age of 15 and defended in Greek his thesis for the
Paris master's degree at 17. After entering the Society he taught rhetoric at
Reims, La Flčche, and Paris. When he approached his main task, teaching
theology, he brought together all his skills along with a profound knowledge
of Sacred Scripture. He had a wide familiarity with the Fathers of the Church
and councils so that he has been called the Father of Positive Theology
. His five-volume work Theological Doctrines is considered a
masterpiece, as he was willing to modestly admit in a letter to Superior
General Vitelleschi. "In this treatise on things divine I have not
followed the road trod by the old school. I have taken a new road, and I can
say without pride, a road as yet untouched by any other. Putting aside that
subtle kind of theology which meanders, like philosophy, though I do not know
what labyrinths, I have created a simple, graceful venture, like a rapid
stream, from the pure and original sources of Scripture, the councils and the
Fathers." (Ban, Ham, JLx, Som)