Saint Robert Bellarmine, bishop and Doctor of the Church, of the Society of Jesus, who disputed brilliantly on the theological controversies of his time with a singular and subtle skill. Created a cardinal, he devoted himself greatly to the pastoral ministry in the Church of Capua, and at last, at Rome, undertook very many labors for the defense of the Apostolic See and the doctrine of the faith.
Lifespan: 1542–1621
Beatified: 13 May 1923 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized: 29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI, St. Peter’s Basilica
Memoria liturgica: 17 September
“If you have wisdom, understand that you were created for the glory of God and for your own eternal salvation.”
Born on 4 October 1542 in Montepulciano, near Siena, he was the nephew, on his mother’s side, of Pope Marcellus II.
He received an excellent humanistic formation before entering the Society of Jesus on 20 September 1560. His studies in philosophy and theology, conducted at the Roman College, Padua, and Louvain, centred on Saint Thomas and the Fathers of the Church, and were decisive for his theological orientation.
Ordained a priest on 25 March 1570, he served for some years as a professor of theology at Louvain. Subsequently, called to Rome as a professor at the Roman College, he was entrusted with the chair of Apologetics; during the decade in which he held this position (1576–1586) he developed a course of lectures that were later compiled into the Controversiae, a work that immediately became celebrated for its clarity, richness of content, and predominantly historical approach. The Council of Trent had recently concluded, and the Catholic Church needed to consolidate and affirm its identity, including in relation to the Protestant Reformation.
Bellarmine’s work was set within this context. From 1588 to 1594 he served first as spiritual director of the Jesuit students at the Roman College—among whom he met and guided Saint Aloysius Gonzaga—and then as religious superior. Pope Clement VIII appointed him pontifical theologian, consultor of the Holy Office, and rector of the College of Penitentiaries at St. Peter’s Basilica. To the years 1597–1598 belongs his catechism, Dottrina cristiana breve, which was his most popular work.
On 3 March 1599 he was created a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII, and on 18 March 1602 he was appointed Archbishop of Capua. He received episcopal ordination on 21 April of the same year. During the three years he served as diocesan bishop, he distinguished himself by his zeal as a preacher in his cathedral, by his weekly visits to the parishes, and by the three diocesan synods and one provincial council he convened.
After taking part in the conclaves that elected Popes Leo XI and Paul V, he was recalled to Rome, where he became a member of the Congregations of the Holy Office, the Index, Rites, Bishops, and the Propagation of the Faith. He also undertook diplomatic missions, to the Republic of Venice and to England, in defence of the rights of the Apostolic See. In his later years he composed various works of spirituality, in which he distilled the fruit of his annual spiritual exercises. From reading these works, the Christian faithful still draw great edification today.
He died in Rome on 17 September 1621. Pope Pius XI beatified him in 1923, canonized him in 1930, and proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1931.