Church of St. Michael (Tomb of St. Peter Cantius)
The burial place of St. Peter Cantius.
St. Peter Cantius → Plan a trip hereThe Story
The Church of St. Michael in Fribourg, Switzerland, built between 1603 and 1613 for the Jesuit College of St. Michael, is the church most closely associated with St. Peter Canisius, the Dutch Jesuit called the "Second Apostle of Germany." Canisius founded the college in 1580, spent his final years there, and after his death on December 21, 1597, was buried in its church, where his memory has been honored ever since. Peter Canisius (1521–1597), born in Nijmegen, was the first Dutchman to enter the Society of Jesus. In the turbulent decades after the Reformation he preached, taught, and founded colleges across German-speaking Europe, and his catechisms — clear, charitable summaries of Catholic doctrine — went through hundreds of editions and formed Catholics for centuries. He was renowned for defending the faith vigorously while insisting on respect and charity toward those who differed. Pope Pius XI canonized Canisius in 1925 and, on the same occasion, declared him a Doctor of the Church. For centuries his relics were venerated in the Church of St. Michael; in April 2021, marking the 500th anniversary of his birth, they were solemnly transferred to Fribourg's Cathedral of St. Nicholas, where the saint had often preached, so that devotion to him could flourish at the heart of the diocese. Pilgrims to Fribourg today can visit both the historic college church, with the rooms where the saint lived and died, and the cathedral that now houses his reliquary — a double witness to a teacher whose gentle firmness helped renew Catholic life in an age of division.
Church Recognition
St. Peter Canisius was canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1925; his relics, long kept in the Church of St. Michael, were translated with the Church's approval to Fribourg's Cathedral of St. Nicholas in April 2021.
Catholic Teaching
The memory of St. Peter Canisius highlights the Church's mission of catechesis — handing on the faith whole and entire (CCC 4–10, 84–95) — and the witness of the Doctors of the Church; veneration of his relics expresses the communion of saints (CCC 946–962, 1674).
Plan Your Visit
Practical
Additional Information
Pilgrims visit the Church of St. Michael and the adjoining historic college founded by the saint, including the rooms associated with his last years, and venerate his relics in the nearby Cathedral of St. Nicholas, to which they were transferred in 2021. His feast on December 21 is kept with particular devotion in Fribourg.
Go Deeper
See the Vatican News saint-of-the-day profile of St. Peter Canisius and Pope Benedict XVI's 2011 general audience catechesis on him; read the Catechism of the Catholic Church on catechesis (CCC 4–10), and consult the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg for information on the cathedral and the Canisius reliquary.
Location
See it on the interactive map →Pilgrim Photos
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