Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/817

 GRAVINA

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6RAZ

1700 he returned to the Illinois mission. In 1706 the ungrateful Peorias attacked and cruelly wounded the missionary. An arrow-head imbedded in his arm could never be extracted even by surgeons in Paris. In 1708 Gravier returned to Louisiana, where he died of his wound that same year.

RocHEMONTEix. Les Je.'iuites el la Xouvelle France (Montreal, 1896); .Shea, 3"Ae Catholic Church in Colonial Days (New York.

18861. Lionel Lindsay.

Gravina, Dominic, theologian; b. in Sicilj', about 1573; d. in the Minerva, at Rome, 26 Aug., 1643. He entered the Dominican Order at Naples, and made his classical and sacred studies in the order's schools. As professor of theology in the Dominican college of St. Dominic (Naples), in the Minerva, and in other schools of his order, he became the most celebrated theologian of his time in Itah'. He was made master of sacred theology by a general chapter of the order held at Rome in 1608, and then became dean of the faculty of the theological college of Naples. In the pulpit also he gained great renonNTi, and was fre- quently called upon to conduct Lenten courses and to preach before Pope Paul V. He displayed, more- over, a tireless activity in the administrative offices of prior and provincial in his own province, and of procurator general and vicar-general of the entire order. While discharging the duties of these two offices, to the latter of which he was raised by Pope Urban VIII, who had caused the general to be re- moved, he was also JIaster of the Sacred Palace. Of his many writings on theological subjects, chiefly of an apologetic character, a large number have never been published. Of the published works the most important are: "CatholicEe prcescriptiones adversus omnes hsre- ticos" (7 vols., Naples, 1619-39); "Prosacro ordinis Sacramento vindiciae orthodoxse" (Naples, 1634; Co- logne, 1638); " Apologeticus ad versus novatorum calumnias" (Naples, 1629; Cologne, 1638); "Lapis Lydius ad discernendas veras a falsis revelationibus " (2 vols., Naples, 1638), a mystical writing.

QuETiF AND EcHARD, Scrip. Ord. Freed., II, 532-3; Reich- ERT, M&numenta Ord. Freed, Historica, XI, 106, 152, 341; XII, 139. Arthur L. McMahon.

Gravina, Giov.^nni Vincenzo, Italian jurist and litterateur of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; b. at Roghano, Calabria, 21 January, 1664; d. at Rome, 6 January, 1718. At the age of sixteen j^ears he went to Naples to study Latin, Greek, and law, not neglecting, liowever, his mother-tongue. He went to Rome in 16S0, where he taught civil and canon law. He had just been called to an important chair of law at the University of Turin when he was attacked by the illness of which he died. The juristic studies to which he devoted himself with more ardour than taste did not cause him to forget poetry. In 1690 he was co-founder, under the name of Opico Erimanto, of the " Accademia degli .\rcadi " of Rome, specially devoted to poetry. Later he quarrelled with the members of this academy, and tried unsuccessfully to establish an "Anti-.\rcadia". The freedom with which he spoke of everyone, the good opinion he entertained of him- self, and the scorn he exhibited for many literary per- sons, made him many enemies. But he had the merit of having been the patron of the poet Metastasius. His work on canon law: " Institutiones canonical" (Turin, 1732, 1742, etc.; ed., Rome, 1832) is a clear, but very elementary handbook. His chief work on civil law is "Originum juris civilis libri tres" (Naples, 1701, 1713; Veruce, 1730). This was translated into French under the title "Esprit des lois romaines" (Paris, 1775). Another work is "De imperio Ro- mano liber singularis ", published in the editions of his " Originum juris civilis libri tres ". Among his literary works the following are deserving of mention: "Delle antiche favole" (Rome, 1696); "Delia Ragione Poetica libri due" (Rome, 1709; Naples, 1716); "Tra-

gedie cinque" (Naples, 1712); "Orationes et Opu8- cula" (Naples, 1712; Utrecht, 1713); "Delia tragedia librouno" (Naples, 1715).

NicERON, Mcmoircs pour servir a I'histoire dee hommes illus- tres (Paris. 1734), XXIX, 233 sq. ; Passeri, Vita des Gravina in Raccolla di opuscuti scientif. e filol. (Venice, 1768): Schultk, Gcschichte der Quellen und Literatur des canonischen Rechts (.Stuttgart, 1875-1880), III, 501; Scherer in Kirchenlexicon,

A. Van Hove.

Gravina and Montepeloso, Diocese of (Gravi- NENSis ET Montis Pelusii). — Gravina is a town in the Province of Bari (Southern Italy) on a river of the same name, since the ninth century an episcopal see, suffragan of Acerenza and Matera. In 1818 it was united a-que principaUter with Montepeloso, which dates back to the twelfth century (some say the fif- teenth) and was suffragan of Potenza. Montepeloso is situated on a hill in the Province of Potenza. In 975 it was defended against the Saracens; in 999 Gregorio Tracomonte, a native of Bari, defeated there the Byzantines. The cathedral of Gravina treasures in a splendid reliquary an arm of St. Thomas a Becket obtained by Bishop Roberto in 1179. The first known Bishop of Gravina is Leo ; other bishops of note are: .Samuele (1215), who built at his own e.xpense the church of the Madonna di Altamura, afterwards an archipresbyterate nuUius (i. e. exempt from the jurisdiction of the neighbouring bishop; see Exemp- tion); Giacomo II (1302). who altered the rite from Greek to Latin by order of the Archbishop of Acer- enza; Vincenzo Giustiniani (1593), a Genoese noble- man, who foimded the seminary, the church of the Ma- donna delle Grazie, and the Capuccinelle convent; Domenico Cennini (1645), who built the episcopal residence; Fra Domenico Valvassori (1686), a patron of learning and founder of an "accademia teologica". The united dioceses, directly subject to the Holy See, contain 9 parishes and 28,000 souls, 7 convents for women, and 2 girls' schools.

Cappelletti, Le Chiese d' Italia (1S70). XXI; Palizzolo- Gravisa, La Casa Gravina (Palermo, ISSS).

U. Benigni.

Graz, LTniversitt of, located in the capital of the Province of Steiermark, owes its establishment to the Coimter-Reformation and the efforts of Archduke Karl von Steiermark, who, in 1584, requested Pope Gregory XIII to grant autonomous university privileges to the Jesuit college of Graz, which had been founded in 1573 and was already possessed of a theological and philo- sophical school. The documents of the archducal foundation and of papal recognition are dated 1 Janu- ary, 1585. The latter, however, was not made public until 15 .\pril, 1586, the occasion being the dedication exercises of the institution as a universit}-, and it bore the signature of the new pope, Sixtus V. The letter of recognition of Emperor Rudolf II followed soon after. The archduke endowed the seat of learning with a yearly income and set aside for its benefit a certain proportion of the products j'ielded by Govern- ment lands. The papal Bull directed the Jesuit priests in charge to give public instruction in theology, philosophy, and the liberal arts, as was cvistomary in other advanced schools of a similar character. The first scholastic year of the university began in 1586.

Subsequent to the Counter-Reformation, Archduke Ferdinand signed on behalf of the institution which his father had created a second document of founda^ tion, in which he confirmed its purpo.se as set forth in the original decree, declaring it to be "the ser\ace of the Holy Roman Catholic Religion", and placed it on a solid material basis. He enriched it with new buildings and presented it with the revenues and full ecclesiastical supremacy of Miihlstatt, in Carinthia, and of other estates of the Crown, including the right of independent jurisdiction and exemption from the