Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/49

 SIRLETO

27

SIRMOND

on the Via Ostiensis which was rebuilt by the emperor as a basilica of five aisles during the pontificate of Siricius and was dedicated by the pope in 390. The name of Siricius is still to be found on one of the pillars that was not destroyed in the fire of 1823, and which now stands in the vestibule of the side entrance to the transept. Two of his contempora- ries describe the character of Siricius disparaginply. Paulinas of Nola, who on his visit to Konie in 395 was treated in a Riiarded manner by the pope, speaks of the urbici papa: supcrba dincrctio, the haughty policy of the Roman bishop (Epist., V, 14). This action of the pope is, however, explained by the fact that there had been irregularities in the election and consecration of Paulinus (Base, "Paulin von Nola", I, 193). Jerome, for his part, speaks of the "lack of judgment" of Siricius (Epist., exxvii, 9) on ac- count of the latter's treatment of Rufinus of Aqui- leia, to whom the pope had given a letter when Rufinus left Rome in 398, which showed that he was in communion with the Church. The reason, however, does not justify the judgment which Jerome expressed against the pope; moreover, Jerome in his polemical wiitings often exceeds the limits of pro- priety. All that is known of the labours of Siricius refutes the critici.sm of the caustic hermit of Bethle- hem. The "Liber Pontificahs" gives an incorrect date for his death; he was buried in the cameterium of Priscilla on the Via Salaria. The text of the in- scription on his grave is known (De Rossi, "In- scriptiones christ. urbis Romse", II, 102, 138). His feast is celebrated on 26 November. His name was inserted in the Roman IMartyrology by Bene- dict XIV.

Lihtr Ponlif.. ed. DtJCHESNE. I, 216-17; Coustant, Epist. Roman. Pont., I; Jaff*. Reo. Pont. Horn.. I. 2nd ed., 40-42; Babut. La plus ancienne Dtrretale (Pari?, 1904); Lanoen. Geich. der Tfim. Kirche. I (Bonn. 1881), 611 sqq.; Radschen, Jahrb. der chriatl. Kirche (Freiburg, 1897); GrisaR, Gesch. Roms u. der Pdpste, I, passim; Hefele, Konzitiengesch., II, 2nd ed.. 45-48. .51. J. P. KiRSCH.

Sirleto, Gtjglielmo, cardinal and scholar, b. at Guardavalle near Stilo in Calabria, l.'jH; d. at Rome, 6 October, 158.5. The son of a physician, he received n excellent edu-

cation, made the acquaintance of distinguished scholars at Rome, and became an in- timate friend of Cardinal Marcello Cervino, later Pope Marcellus II. He prepared for Cervino, who wiis President of the Council of Trent in its initial jieriod, extensive reports on all the important ques- tions presented for di.scussion. After his appointment as custodian of the V.atican Library, Sirleto drew up a complete descrip- tive catalogue of its Greek manuscripts and pre- pared a new edition of the Vulgate. Paul IV named him prothonotary and tutor to two of his neph- ews. After this pope's death he taught Greek and Hebrew at Rome, numbering St. Charles Bor- romeo among his students. During the concluding period of tlu' Council of Trent he was, although he continued Id reside at Rome, the con.stant and most heeded adviser of the cardinal-legates. He was him-

self created cardinal in 1565, became Bishop of San Marco in Calabria in 1566, and of Squillace in 1568. An order of the papal secretarj- of state, however, en- joined his residence at Rome, where he was named, in 1570, librarian of the Vatican Librarj'. His influence was paramount in the execution of the scientific un- dertakings decreed by the Council of Trent. He col- laborated in the i)ubli(':ition of the Roman Catechism, presided over the Coinnii.ssions for the reform of the Roman Hrevian,- and Missal, and directed the work of the nc\v edition of the Roman Martyrologj'. Highly appreciative of Greek culture, he entertained very friendly relations with the East and encouraged all efforts tending to ecclesiastical reunion. He was at- tended in his last illness by St. Philip Neri and was buried in the presence of Sixtus V.

Huhter. Nomenchlor Lit., I (2d ed., Innsbruck, 1892). 9.'>-fi; Baumer-Biron, Hist, du brcviaire, II (Paris, 1905), 169-71, passim.

N. A. Weber.

Sirmiuin (Szer^m), Diocese of (Sirmiensis), situated near the modern town of Mitrovitz in Slavonia; its church is said to have been founded by St. Peter. The district of Szerem was subject to the Archbishop of Kalocsa after the Christianization of Hungary. In 1228, the archbishop petitioned the Holy ,See, in consideration of the hirge extent of his diocese, to found a new bishopric, and in 1229 Gregory IX established the See of Szerem, the juris- diction of which eo\ered almost exclusively the coun- try on the right bank of the Sava River. The see was under the Turkish Government in 1526. It had no bishop from 1537 to 1578, and was held by a titular bishop after 1624. In 1709 the see was re- established with some changes in its territory. Clement XIV united it with Bosnia and Diakovdr in 1773.

SzoR^NYi, Vindiciw Sirmienses (Buda, 1746); Farlati, IHyricum sacrum, VII. 449-811; Pray, Specimen Hierarchia(r Hungarice, U, 362-95; A katolikus MagyaTorszdg (Budapest, 1902).

A. Aldasy.

Sinnond, Jacques, one of the greatest scholars of the seventeenth century, b. at Hiom in the Depart- ment of Puv-de-D6me, France, Oct., 15.59; d. in Pari.s, 7 0ct.,"l651. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1576 and was appointed in 1.581 professor of clas- sical languages in Paris, where he numbered St. Francis de .Sales among his pupils. Called to Rome in 1.590, he was for sixteen years private secretar\ to the Jesuit su- perior general, Aquaviva, devot- ing his lei.sure mo- ments during the same period to the .study of the literary and historical treasures of antiquity. He entertained intimate relations with several learned men then present at Rome, among them Bellarmine and particularly Baronius, to whom he was helpful in the composition of the "Annates". In 1608 he returned to Paris, and in 1637 became confessor to King Louis XIII. His first liteniry production ap- peared in 1610, and from that date until the end of his life almost every year witne.s,sed the publiciition of some new work. The results of his literary labours