St. Robert Bellarmine

Saint Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) was a Jesuit cardinal, theologian, and Doctor of the Church, the foremost Catholic controversialist of the Counter-Reformation. Born on October 4, 1542, at Montepulciano in Tuscany, a nephew of Pope Marcellus II, he entered the newly founded Society of Jesus in 1560. After studies and early teaching, he was ordained in Flanders and became a celebrated professor at Louvain, then at the Roman College, where he held the chair of controversial theology. His lectures grew into the monumental Disputationes de controversiis christianae fidei (Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith), a calm, systematic presentation of Catholic doctrine in response to the Protestant Reformers. Remarkable for its fairness in stating opponents' arguments, the work became the standard Catholic reference of its age and drew replies from across Protestant Europe. Bellarmine also wrote two catechisms that remained in widespread use for centuries, served on the commission that completed the Clementine edition of the Latin Vulgate, and was the spiritual director of the young Saint Aloysius Gonzaga at the Roman College. Made a cardinal in 1599 by Pope Clement VIII, Bellarmine served briefly as archbishop of Capua from 1602 to 1605, where he proved a devoted pastor, before being recalled to Rome as an advisor to the popes and a member of the Holy Office. In that capacity he was charged in 1616 with delivering to Galileo the Church's admonition concerning the Copernican theory, an episode in which his personal dealings with the scientist were marked by courtesy and restraint. Despite his rank he lived with striking austerity, giving his income to the poor. In his last years Bellarmine turned to devotional writing, producing small classics such as The Mind's Ascent to God and The Art of Dying Well. He died in Rome on September 17, 1621. Canonized in 1930 by Pope Pius XI and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1931, he is honored as a patron of catechists and canon lawyers. His feast is kept on September 17, and his relics are venerated in the Church of Sant'Ignazio in Rome, near the altar of his pupil Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.