St. Peter Canisius, priest and Jesuit

St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church: 1521-1597 A.D.

Feast day, December 21

Birth, family and education

St. Peter Canisius, whose Dutch name was Petris Kanijs, was born on May 8, 1521, in the city of Nijmegen, Holland. He was the son of a wealthy Dutchman, the nine-times-elected burgomaster of Nijmegen. His mother, Aegidia van Houwenigen, died shortly after his birth. Peter was reared by a step-mother. When Peter was fifteen, he was sent by his father to the University of Cologne to study literature and law, with the objective of making Peter a lawyer. Peter received his master of arts degree from the University of Cologne university when he was only nineteen.

Entering the Jesuit Order

While at the Cologne university, Peter came under the influence of some pious men and decided not to be a lawyer. This spoiled his father's plans who wanted him not only to be a lawyer but to also marry a wealthy young lady. Peter wanted to devote his life to serving God in the Church. In 1543 A.D., while Peter Faber (part of the original companions of St. Ignatius) was preaching in Mainz, Germany, Peter Canisius made St. Ignatius of Loyola's "Spiritual Exercises" under Peter Faber's spiritual direction. As a result, Peter Canisius made the decision to become a Jesuit. He was received into the Society of Jesus on May 8, 1543. Continuing his studies in the University of Cologne, Peter Canisius opened the first Jesuit house in Germany. He was ordained a priest in June of 1546 A.D.

Worked successfully for the revival of Catholicism

Peter Canisius gave his inheritance to the poor and became noted for his preaching. He attended two sessions of the Council of Trent and was sent to teach at the Jesuits' first school at Messina by St. Ignatius of Loyola. In 1549 A.D. he went to Ingolstadt at the request of Duke William IV of Bavaria to combat Protestantism and revive the faith of Catholics. Peter served as rector and then as vice chancellor of the university at Ingolstadt, effected a religious revival among the people. In 1552 A.D., he was sent on a similar mission to Vienna at the request of King Ferdinand.

The Second Apostle of Germany

In 1555 A.D., St. Peter Canisius published the first edition of his Catechism. It was enormously successful, with hundreds of printings in some fifteen languages. He was sent to Prague in 1556 A.D. to help found a new college. While in Prague, he was appointed provincial of a new province of the Jesuits consisting of southern Germany, Bohemia, and Austria. These were parts of the beginnings of a work that would lead Pope Leo XIII to call St. Peter Canisius the Second Apostle of Germany - with St. Boniface being the first. Peter Canisius continued in his mission, teaching and preaching at Augsburg from 1559-1566 A.D., and at Innsbruck and Munich from 1571 to 1577 A.D. He established Jesuit colleges at Munich, Innsbruck, Augsburg, Vienna, Wurzburg, and Dillingen. St. Peter Canisius' influence was felt throughout the German Empire, even in places where he did not appear personally.

A prolific writer-saint and Doctor of the Church

In 1580 A.D., St. Peter Canisius founded a college at Fribourg. His preaching and work made the college a university and kept the Fribourg college Catholic. Even when he suffered a stroke in 1591 A.D., he continued his work by dictating his writing until his death at Fribourg on December 21. Peter Canisius was a prolific writer, editing the works of St. Cyril of Alexandria and St. Leo the Great. He created an edition of St. Jerome's letters, a martyrology, a revision of the breviary, and a Manual of Catholics. It was mainly due to St. Peter Canisius' works that the Counter-Reformation was successful in southern Germany. He was canonized in 1925 A.D. and at the same time declared a Doctor of the Church.

References of this article

• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
• The Doctors of the Church vol 2, by John F.
  Fink
• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press,
  Inc.