Blessed Peter Canisius of Nijmegen

These were the darkest days of the 16th century. Luthe r had Luther Initiator of the Protestant Reformation and primary ideological adversary of Canisius. risen from the bosom of the Church, impetuous, obstinate, and excessively proud. Driven by the spirit of evil and rebellion, this man had stripped off his monk's habit and, with anathema on his lips, had vowed the most implacable hatred against Catholicism; he had sworn the ruin of the Papacy. Canisius was born in Nijmegen while the apostate monk was burning the bulls of Leo X in Wittenberg.

Henceforth, nothing was to stop the heresiarch. He threw down the gauntlet to both the Pope and the Emperor Charles V at the same time. The Pope, assisted by Jesus Christ, resisted and triumphed; but the Emperor, initially faithful, was soon troubled by the sight of the war that threatened him, and, at the cost of unfortunate concessions, bought the momentary submission of his rebellious subjects. When Luther died, his work was finished; the Reformation had cast deep roots throughout all of Europe.

They developed rapidly. Germany, which received them with the most favor, was to be their first victim; along with the Catholic faith, the imperial constitution was threatened; the princes, who were no longer obeyed, revolted in their turn against Charles V; blood flowed in torrents on all sides.

The Church pauses for a moment: then, assisted by the Holy Spirit, she rises entirely at the voice of her head, and asserts herself more alive and stronger than ever. To the league formed at Schmalkalden by the Protestants, she opposes the Council of Tr concile de Trente Ecumenical council of the Catholic Church aimed at responding to the Reformation. ent... It is Canisius who must introduce us into the assembly of the Fathers of the Church.

It was there that the young religious was formed; his progress on the path of perfection was so rapid that, his novitiate barely completed in Cologne under the dire ction of Father Pet Père Pierre Lefèvre One of the first companions of Ignatius of Loyola and master of Canisius. er Faber, he was judged worthy of the priesthood and immediately called to succeed this same Father Faber in the office of superior. We find him explaining the epistles of Saint Paul to the theologians of the University, and the Gospels to the students of the Mont college, and at the same time preparing a new edition of the works of Saint Cyril of Alexandria and Saint Leo the Great. But suddenly he is invited to greater destinies. From this moment begins his struggle against the Reformation.

A great scandal has descended upon the Church of Germany: the Archbishop of Cologne, Hermann von Wied, has allowed himself to be seduced and drawn into heresy. At the sight of the betrayal of their pastor, the city is indignant; the clergy, the University, and the magistrates, jealous of keeping the treasure of their faith intact, decide to request the deposition of the culprit. However, no one dared to go to Charles V and George of Austria, Prince-Bishop of Liège, to present such a grave request. Eyes are cast upon Canisius: it is he who will be, before the Emperor and the Cardinal, the interpreter charged with protesting against the indignity of the culprit. A delicate mission that testifies to the esteem already held for the young Jesuit!

God seconds the envoy of the inhabitants of Cologne: the Pope excommunicates Hermann and replaces him with a holy priest.

During his journey, the Blessed had met in Ulm with Cardinal Otto Truchsess, Bishop of Augsburg. The prelate, struck by his rare merit, resolved to send him to the Council of Trent as his theologian. Ignatius of Loy ola, when consul Ignace de Loyola Founder of the Society of Jesus and friend of Philip. ted, replied to the Cardinal that his choice could not have been better. It was in vain that, upon the return of his negotiator, Cologne asserted its rights over him; Canisius had his place marked among the Fathers of the Council.

The gathering of the Fathers of the Church at that time seemed impossible. Emperor Charles V, caught between Catholics and Protestants, did not want to do anything that seemed to favor one or the other; the King of France did not wish for an assembly where the Pope would be the master; finally, the Pope himself could fear some undertaking against his authority: and yet, in the midst of so many difficulties and obstacles, the work of God was accomplished, and the faith was saved. An eternal lesson that God is always pleased to give to the audacious who would wish to resist His Christ or His Church!

Among the large crowd of prelates and theologians called to the Council by the voice of the Roman Pontiff, Canisius, from the beginning of the sessions, was placed in the front rank. At the moment when, the preliminaries finished, the Council was about to begin its dogmatic sessions, fevers broke out in Trent and the seat of the assembly was transferred to Bologna. Assisted by the learned Jesuit James Laynez, the Pope's theologian, Canisius was tasked with making an exact record of the errors put forward regarding the sacraments by the heretics and with gathering from the monuments of tradition the foundations for the definitive rules. The expectation of Saint Ignatius and Cardinal Otto Truchsess was not disappointed: each time the young Jesuit raised his voice within the assembly, the Fathers of the Council admired in him the man of God, coming with his noble and touching eloquence to stir hearts and convince minds.

But now, after the troubles that followed the murder of the Duke of Piacenza, the assembly is dissolved: Canisius is recalled to Rome by Saint Ignatius. We will soon find him again at the new session of the Council.

Ignati Ignace Founder of the Society of Jesus and friend of Philip. us and Canisius were, it seems, eager to know each other better... Who could describe the outpourings of these two souls! Ignatius initiated Canisius into the Lord's secret designs for his nascent work, and, who knows? in His sublime goodness, the Most High, tearing away the veils of the future, perhaps showed them

LIVES OF THE SAINTS. — VOLUME XIV. 26

this Company of Jesus embracing the entire universe with the flames of divine love and simultaneously regenerating the old world and converting the new!

Everything, in the time of Ignatius, had to be founded: masters were needed capable of eclipsing their heretical rivals. It is known that Luther owed part of his power to his ardent eloquence, to his prodigious facility for treating philosophical and religious matters in his mother tongue; the disciples who were to replace him in his teaching imitated him and very quickly acquired that prestige which dazzles weak minds. Ignatius formed masters who very quickly surpassed the so-called reformers.

Canisius, after five months spent in prayer and study near his superior, left for Messina; and he who shortly before had sat among the Fathers of the Council, had to teach rhetoric. For a year, he carried out this mission with that devotion, that love of duty which made him find charm in the least of tasks. He was soon to reappear on a vaster stage.

He is suddenly recalled to Rome to pronounce his solemn vows: it was, so to speak, the completion of the man of God. Peter consecrates himself solemnly and irrevocably to the work of Providence; Ignatius can die in peace, he counts one more valiant fighter in his elite army.

It is to Germany that the professed religious now belongs; we are going to see this true reformer at work. The Duke William had requested holy masters to raise the level of public instruction in Bavaria. Canisius, Le Jay, and Salmeron, three predestined disciples of the General of the Society of Jesus, received the order to go to Ingolstadt to found a college there. Their only luggage consisted of the crucifix, the Spiritual Exercises, and the Ratio studiorum, or "plan of studies." With these two little books, th e Jesuit Jésuites Religious order to which Peter Canisius belonged. s stirred the world; in the first, they drew that superhuman strength which guided them beyond the seas toward infidel peoples; the second served as their infallible rule in the work of educating the youth. The Duke William had only praise for the Jesuits; the most brilliant success crowned their efforts. The University named Canisius its rector; he defended himself against this honor, but Ignatius ordered, and the religious submitted. From that day on, everything prospered; books tainted with heresy were removed from the students, discussions between masters and pupils calmed down, and the words of the Blessed one revived in the hearts of the youth the respect and love for work. Thus, the University wished to perpetuate the memory of its rector and inscribed his praise in its annals. When the six months of his rectorship were finished, the apostle of Ingolstadt was able to give thanks to Him who was pleased to spread so many favors through his hands. The news of these wonders spread rapidly throughout Germany; from all sides, letters and prayers were addressed to the superiors of Canisius; he was wanted everywhere. Ferdin Ferdinand, roi des Romains Christian king who welcomed Casilda during her journey to Burgos. and, King of the Romans, supported by the Sovereign Pontiff, obtained his presence in Vienna. Austria, upon his arrival, presented a heartbreaking spectacle. The secular clergy, the religious Orders, and the schools were infected with the hideous leprosy whose germ Luther had deposited everywhere. The cities no longer had pastors, the sacraments were no longer administered, and religious ceremonies were no longer celebrated. Canisius was at first frightened by the immensity of the evil, but soon he prostrated himself before God and obtained from Him that Austria be regenerated. Canisius multiplied himself; he preached at court, he preached to the people, he catechized the children. Suddenly, a terrible punishment from God! The plague broke out in the city; it was again Canisius who was found at the bedside of the dying, caring for the bodies and regenerating the hearts of the unfortunate Viennese. Finally, he obtained a jubilee from the Holy Father, and he was its preacher; and in the midst of an immense gathering, he vindicated the misunderstood honor of indulgences. At the same time, with the help of the generosity of noble families, he opened a boarding school; the sons of the most noble inhabitants flocked there. Soon the angelic Stanislaus Kostka, guided by the Virgin Mary, would come to be formed there in the holy virtues that were to charm the world. Vienna was reborn to the faith; the King of the Romans wished to reward the zeal of the apostle by offering him the episcopal see of this diocese, which he had just so happily transformed. Canisius accepted the duty of this heavy office for some time, but he refused its honors.

We have said it: to the apostolate of the word, Father Canisius knew how to join the apostolate of the pen. Let us pause, so to speak, in the middle of his life, to speak of the work of his that has remained the most famous, the most popular: his catechism. Ferdinand, that prince whom we saw earlier so full of admiration for the Blessed one, had requested from Saint Ignatius a short and solid exposition of Christian doctrine. It was to Canisius, as the most capable, that such an important work was entrusted. This abridgment of Christian doctrine, Summa doc trinae christianae, will Summa doctrinæ christianæ Major doctrinal work by Canisius for the instruction of the faithful. remain, along with the catechism of the Council of Trent, as an eternal monument to the triumph of the Church over error in the time of Luther. Scarcely had the book appeared when Ferdinand, by a solemn rescript, spread it throughout the empire. Philip II of Spain soon imitated his uncle, and had it printed in the states of the old and new world. It was translated into all the languages of Europe: Russia, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, England, Ireland, Holland, and Switzerland knew, for a very long time, hardly any other elementary exposition of the Catholic faith. "In 1686," the Reverend Father Alet tells us, "when the catechism of Canisius was published in Paris by the authority of Mgr de Harlay, it had reached, as the preface notes, at least the four hundredth edition." The reason for this success and at the same time its greatest praise has just fallen from the august lips of Pius IX, in the brief of beatification. "Having noticed that heresy was spreading everywhere by means of small books, Canisius thought that there was no better remedy against the evil than a good abridgment of Christian Doctrine. He therefore composed his own, but with such accuracy, clarity, and precision that there exists none more suitable for instructing and confirming the people in the Catholic faith." Dominated by the feelings of that extreme humility which characterized him, Canisius had resolved not to make himself known as the author of the catechism, but the secret, perhaps poorly kept, was soon divulged, and the renown of the Blessed one increased immensely. It was no longer only Germany that demanded his presence; Transylvania, Hungary, Silesia, and Poland soon vied for him.

Appointed, in the meantime, provincial of Germany by Saint Ignatius, the Blessed first occupied himself with ensuring the complete existence of the colleges of Prague, Ingolstadt, and Munich; then, at the moment he was about to go to Bavaria, he was called to the Colloquy of Worms.

The Protestants had asked the lords of Germany, present at the Diet of Regensburg, that a certain number of men chosen from both camps come to meet in conference in the city of Worms. This proposal pleased Ferdinand: he wanted to spare the sensibilities of the Lutheran princes, whose help he would need to wage war against the Muslims. Canisius, despite a certain reluctance, went to the colloquy at the desire of his superiors: he found there already gathered the old Philipp Melanchthon, the evil genius of Philippe Mélanchton Protestant theologian, collaborator of Luther, confronted by Canisius at Worms. Luther, Erasmus Schneff, Henri Buttinger, and Flach Francowitz, all fierce preachers of the "pure Gospel." It must be said that at first, and the triumph was only the more striking for it, there was little enthusiasm on the Catholic side, and the discussions renewed each day brought no real results. The Blessed then had recourse to his great means; he prayed, and an inspiration from heaven helped him immediately.

It was easy to see that the theologians of the heresy did not agree among themselves on the most essential articles. Now, the colloquy had been granted only to the partisans of the Augsburg Confession. He therefore insinuated that, to avoid confusion, it would be useful to exclude the doctors who did not admit this rule of faith. It is impossible to say how much this unexpected proposal disconcerted the dissidents. They began to attack one another. The Sacramentarians condemned the Anabaptists, and the Anabaptists the Sacramentarians, and so on with the different sects. Melanchthon, despite his great age, had the sorrow of seeing himself insulted by his disciples. Soon it came to insults, to the most violent outrages, and one could fear for a moment that there would be a real brawl. Finally, the most impetuous gained the upper hand, and five, who had shown more moderation, were reduced to leaving the place. They withdrew, leaving in the hands of the president a protest against the unworthy conduct of their colleagues.

The colloquy could no longer be prolonged under such new conditions. The King of the Romans decided that the assembly was dissolved and they separated, to the great desolation of the heretics, who blamed Canisius for their failure. Indeed, friends and enemies agreed to recognize that it was to him that the honor of such a happy result for the Catholic cause belonged.

The defeated Lutherans then tried their most shameful weapons against the one who was already called the "hammer of the heretics": they invented ridiculous fables against him and spread the most infamous calumnies everywhere. The man of God redoubled his patience, despised these attacks, and ingeniously, without being moved, multiplied acts of the most ardent charity against these adversaries. He was called to Upper Alsace; he crossed all its cities, doing good and healing the sad wounds that the so-called Reformation was inflicting on the Church.

But the evil was always worsening and it had just reached Poland. The Pope immediately sent an apostolic nuncio there; two theologians accompanied him; one was Canisius. Upon his arrival, he found religion in the greatest of perils.

This unhappy country was then governed by the indolent Sigismund. This prince, at the sight of the ravages already caused by the Reformation, gathered a diet at Piotrkow. But momentum and enthusiasm were initially lacking in this assembly; Canisius tried several times to stir faith in indifferent hearts, and his efforts were finally rewarded. Sigismund, stimulated by him, declared solemnly that he did not intend for the rights of the Church to be touched in any way.

Meanwhile, the sessions of the Council of Trent, suspended for a moment, were about to resume their course. Pius IV, Emperor Ferdinand, and the apostolic legates judged by common agreement that the presence of Canisius was necessary; they had not forgotten that eloquence, at once so sweet and so firm, which had charmed them during the first meeting of the Council, and they also knew what weight the authority of Canisius carried, and of what value a decision motivated by him would be.

Arriving in Trent on May 14, 1562, he found the holy Cardinal Hosius, his friend, very close to death. But the joy that the prelate felt in embracing the one he so ardently desired to see suddenly restored his health.

At the resumption of the assembly's work, Canisius was tasked with presiding over a commission that had to review the Index or Catalogue of condemned books. Several times the holy apostle had to treat the great subject of the Eucharist before the Fathers. It was then that his heart truly overflowed onto his lips. Faith inspired him, and the assembled theologians gave thanks to God who spoke to them through such an eloquent mouth. As for the orator, he wrote on this subject: "It was commanded of me to speak to the Council; it was to others that success was recommended. The Lord helped me in view of the prayers of our Company. To Him alone all the glory."

A petition from the bishops of Basel, Constance, and Lausanne had come to alert Gregory XIII to the danger that the faith was running in Catholic Switzerland. The Bishop of Vercelli, tasked by the Pope with reporting on the state of the country, wrote to Rome that the only way to save religion was to establish there a college directed by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus. This project was approved, but when it was learned in Switzerland that the Jesuits were about to arrive, Protestants and Catholics united in the most threatening declamations. The slanders spread intentionally about the Society of Jesus were bearing fruit. Only one man, it was thought in Rome, is capable of triumphing over these resistances. That was to name Canisius. The mere presence of the holy apostle changed the aspect of this country. Fribourg Swiss city where Canisius founded a college and where he died.

Hardly arrived in Fribourg, the blessed one was the object of everyone's veneration: a college was founded there and Canisius took pleasure in directing it himself. Although rector of the house that had just opened, the blessed one still found time to preach, to visit the sick, and to convert dissidents.

The people of Fribourg became more and more attached to their apostle. One day, the Lutherans of Geneva, Lausanne, and Basel sent to Fribourg shameful libels against the Society of Jesus. The canton of Fribourg responded to these slanders by pledging with a solemn oath to always maintain the Catholic faith intact.

On August 5, 1596, the college buildings had just been completed: they were solemnly inaugurated. At the end of the ceremony, the holy old man, leaning on his staff, wished to thank the people of Fribourg for their generous sacrifices and their fidelity: he begged them never to betray their holy faith and promised them the imperishable devotion of the Society of Jesus.

This was his Nunc dimittis. Desiring nothing more than heaven, the holy old man withdrew entirely into God. Soon, so that nothing would be lacking to his already numerous merits, he was struck by dropsy which caused him to suffer a true martyrdom. On December 20, 1597, after four months of acute suffering, he declared that his life on earth was finally finished and the next day, around three o'clock in the afternoon, in the presence of his brothers, he rendered his beautiful soul to God. He was seventy-eight years old; he had spent fifty-four of them in the Society of Jesus.

Hardly had the news of his death spread, than it was as if a public calamity had suddenly descended upon the city. Crowds pressed at the doors of the college, waiting with anxiety for the remains of the Saint to be exposed to public veneration. Finally, a chapelle ardente was arranged, and the people of Fribourg were able to come in crowds to kneel near the body of their benefactor. Some remained there motionless, as if waiting for those lips to revive to address holy words to them; others prostrated themselves to kiss with respect the hands and feet of the servant of God; some, wanting at all costs to satisfy their devotion, secretly cut a lock of his hair; they even went so far as to tear his sacred garments into shreds.

The day after next, the clergy, the senate, and the magistracy had the body removed and rendered him funeral honors, at the expense of the public treasury, in the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, where he was buried, with the reservation that the precious remains would be returned to the Jesuits as soon as they had a church to receive them.

The funeral oration of the venerable deceased was pronounced by the provost of the Chapter. The people of Fribourg, jealous to perpetuate the memory of Canisius forever, had an inscription engraved on his tomb which retraced in magnificent terms the services that the holy Apostle had rendered to the cause of religion.

On November 20, 1864, Rome, the Eternal City, was in celebration. To the sound of the cannon from the Castel Sant'Angelo, in the presence of the entire diplomatic corps, the cardinals and prelates of the Roman court, the staff of the French army of occupation, and an immense crowd of people who had flocked to the Vatican Basilica, Pius IX ordered that in the eyes of the city and the world, the title and honors of Blessed be bestowed upon the venerable Peter Canisius, priest of the Society of Jesus.

Blessed Peter Canisius is depicted with a dog beside him barking against heresy (his Dutch name, De Hond, means dog; thus the Lutherans, very displeased with his works, called him the dog of Nijmegen).

He is, along with Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of Fribourg, in Switzerland.

## WRITINGS OF BLESSED PETER CANISIUS.

Here is the list of the writings of Blessed Peter Canisius:

1st Collection of the Works of Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria. 2 volumes. — Canisius dedicated the first to Sebastian von Heusenstamm, Archbishop of Mainz, and the second to his fellow students in Cologne.

2nd Collection of the Sermons and Homilies of Saint Leo the Great.

3rd Martyrology or Ecclesiastical Calendar, where the feasts of Jesus Christ and the Saints are marked. The author focuses mainly on the Saints of Germany.

4th Collection of the Selected Letters of Saint Jerome.

5th Book for Confession and Communion.

6th Saint John the Baptist, or the Precursor of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

7th Explanation of the Epistles and Gospels.

8th Manual for Fervent Catholics.

9th Life of Saint Benedict and Saint Fridolin, first apostles of Switzerland.

10th Life of Blessed Nicholas, hermit, with pious practices to honor him.

11th Life of Saint Maurice and his companions, soldiers of the Theban Legion.

12th Meditations on the Gospels.

13th Exercises of Piety.

14th Christian Itinerary.

15th Spiritual Combat.

16th Selected Prayers. Extracts were made from them which the Pope's legates had recited publicly at the Council of Trent, along with the Litanies of Lent.

17th Sermons for the four Sundays of Advent and for Christmas.

18th Prayer Book.

19th Sacred Meditations.

20th Book of Confessions. On the model of the Confessions of Saint Augustine.

21st Sum of Christian Doctrine. This is his Catechism which made him so famous. Countless translations and abridgments have been made of it. This catechism was the source and model for all those that came after, and it has done infinite good for the Church.

We have borrowed what we have just read from M. Adrien de Riancay. — The iconography is taken from the Characteristics of the Saints, by the Reverend Father Cahier, and the list of writings is the one given by the abbot, in his Literary Memoirs.