Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/827

 PETER

757

PETER

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master, Jacob Canisius; his mother, ^Egidia van Houweningen, died shortly after Peter's birth. In 1536 Peter was sent to Cologne, where he studied arts, civil law, and theology at the university; he spent a part of 1539 at the University of Louvain, and in 1540 received the degree of Master of Arts at Cologne. Nicolaus van Esche was his spiritual ad- viser, and he was on terms of friendship with such staunch Catholics as Georg of Skodborg (the expelled Archbishop of Lund), Johann Cropper (canon of the cathedral), Eberhard Billick (the Carmelite monk), Justus Lanspergius, and other Carthusian monks. Although his father desired him to marry a wealthy young woman, on 25 February, 1540 he i)Iedged him- self to celibacy. In 1543 he visited Peter Faber and, having made the "Spiritual Exercises" under his direction, was admitted into the Society of Jesus at Mainz, on 8 May. With the help of Leonhard Kt'ssel and others, Canisius, labouring under great difficulties, founded at Co- logne the first German house of the order; at the same time he preached in the city and vicinity, and debated and taught in the university. In 1546 he was admitted to the priesthood, and soon after- wards was sent by the clerg>' and university to obtain assist- ance from Emperor Charles V, the nuncio, and the c!erg,\ of Liege against the apostate Archbishop, Hermann von Wied, who had attempted to pervert the diocese. In 1547, as the theologian of Cunlinal (Jtto Truchsess von Waldliurn, Bishop of Augsburg, he iKii- ticipated in the general ecclesi- astical council (which sat first at Trent and then at Bologna ). and spoke twice in the con- gregation of the theologians. After this he spent several riKjnths under the direction of Ignatius in Rome. In 1548 he taught rhetoric at Messina, Sicily, preaching in Italian and Latin. At this time Duke William IV of Bavaria re quested Paul III to send him some professors from the So- ' ciety of Jesus for the University of Ingolstadt; Can'sius was among those selected.

On 7 September, 1549, he made his solemn pro- fession as Jesuit at Rome, in the presence of the founder of the order. On his journey northward he received, at Bologna, the degree of tloctor of theology. On 13 November, accompanied by Fathers Jaius and Salmeron, he reached Ingolstadt, where he taught theology, catechized, and preached. In 1550 he was elected rector of the imi\-ersity, and in 1552 was sent by Ignatius to the new college in Vienna ; there he also taught theology in the university, preached at the Cathedral of St. Stephen, and at "the court of Ferdi- nand I, and was confessor at the ho.spital and prison. During Lent, 1553 he visited manyabamloned jiarislios in Lower Austria, preaching and administering the sacraments. The king's eldest son (later Maximilian II) had appointed to the office of court preacher, Phauser, a married priest, who preached the Lutheran doctrine. Canisius warned Ferdinand I, verbally and in writing, and opposed Phauser in public disputations. Ma.ximilian was obliged to dismiss Phauser and, on this account, the rest of his life he harboured a grudge against Canisius. Ferdinand three times offered him the Bishopric of Vienna, but he refused. In 1557

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Juhus 111 ajipointed him administrator of the bishop- ric for one year, but CanLsius succeeded in ridding himself of this burden (cf. X. Pauliis in "Zeitschrift fur katholische Theologie", XXII, 742-S). In 1555 he was present at the Diet of Augsburg with Ferchnand, and in 1555-56 he preached in the cathedral of Prague. After long negotiations and preparations he was able to open Jesuit colleges at Ingolstadt and Prague. In the same year Ignatius appointed him first provincial superior of Upper Germany (Swabia, Bavaria, Bo- hemia, Hungary, Lower and Upper Austria). During the winter of 1556-57 he acted as adviser to the King of the Romans at the Diet of Ratisbon and delivered many sermons in the cathedral. By the appointment of the Catholic princes and the order of the pope he took part in the religious discussions at Worms. As champion of the Catholics he repeatedly spoke in opposition to Melanchthon. The fact that the Prot- estants disagreed among themselves and were obliged to leave the field was due in a great measure to Canisius. He also preached in the cathe- dral of Worms.

During Advent and Christ- mas he visited the BLshop of Strasburg at Zabern, started negotiations for the building of a Jesuit college there, preached, explained the cate- chism to the children, and heard their confessions. He also preached in the cathedral of Strasburg and strengthened the Catholics of Alsace and Freiburg in their faith. Ferdi- nand, on his way to Frankfort to be proclaimed emperor, met him at Nuremburg and con- fided his troubles to him. Then Duke Albert V of Bavaria secured his services; at Strau- bing the pastors and preachers had fled, after having persuaded the people to turn from the Catholic faith. Canisius re- mained in the town for six weeks, preaching three or four times a day, and by his gen- tleness he undid much harm. From Straubing he was called to Rome to be present at the First General Congregation of his order, but before its close Paul IV sent him with the nuncio Mentuati to Poland to the imperial Diet of Pieterko w ; at Cracow he addressed the clergy and members of the university. In the year 1559 he was summoned by the emperor to be present at the Diet of Augsburg. There, at the urgent request of the chapter, he became preacher at the cathedral, and held this position until 1566. His manuscripts show the care with which he wrote his sermons. In a series of sermons he treats of the end of man, of the Decalogue, the Mass, the prophecies of Jonas; at the same time he rarely omitted to expound the Gospel of the day; he spoke in keeping with the spirit of the
 * iii:e, e\pl:iiiied the justification of man, Christian

liln li \. I Ih ]iniper way of interpreting the Scriptures, ilef( ii.lid I he wor.ship of saints, the ceremonies of the Church, religious vows, indulgences, urged obe- dience to the Church authorities, confession, com- munion, fasting, and almsgiving; he censured the faults of the clergy, at times perhaps too sharply, as he felt tli;it they were public and that he must avoid demanding reformation from the laity only. Against the influence of evil .spirits he recommended the means of defence which had been in use in the Church during the first centuries=-lively faith, prayer, eccle-