MEMORIAL OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH – FEAST DAY ~ DECEMBER 21ST: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church.
SAINT PETER CANISIUS, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597) is a remarkable Jesuit who almost single-handedly reevangelized Central Europe, founded dozens of colleges, contributed to the rebirth of Catholicism by his prodigious writings, and laid the groundwork for the Catholic Reformation north of the Alps. He was born at Nijmegen, Holland, in 1521, and his father was an instructor to princes in the court of the duke of Lorraine. St. Peter Canisius was part of a movement for religious reform as a very young man and in 1543, after attending a retreat given by Blessed Peter Favre, joined the Jesuits and was the eighth professed member of the Society of Jesus.
He worked first in the city of Cologne, becoming a spokesman for the Catholic party. He became a consultor to the cardinal of Augsburg at the Council of Trent and in 1547 was called by St. Ignatius to Rome. He was sent to Sicily to teach, then, after his solemn profession in Rome, was sent back to Germany as the first superior of the German province of the Jesuits. St. Peter next began to restore and found colleges, first in Vienna and Prague, and then in Munich, Innsbruck, and throughout northern Germany. He attracted vocations to the Jesuits, and the society began to flourish in Central Europe. He organized the Jesuits into a compact unit and made the society a leading force in the Counter-Reformation. He was in contact with all the Catholic leaders in Germany, and wrote fourteen hundred letters giving support to those laboring for reform. He was the adviser of the emperor and the confidante of three popes. He was consulted by papal legates and nunciatures and was a severe critic of religious and clerical life in post-Reformation Germany. He recommended far-reaching reforms and had a profound effect upon the education and spiritual life of the clergy. Through his efforts, seminaries were founded, and the popes sent him on important diplomatic missions. In the midst of his many labors, he edited and published editions of the Fathers of the Church, catechisms, spiritual manuals, and textbooks that went into countless editions even in his own lifetime. He died on December 21, 1597, at Fribourg, Switzerland. Pope Pius XI canonized him on May 21, 1925, and proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church. Patron Saint of Germany; Catholic press; catechism writers.
PRAYER: God, You endowed Your Priest, St. Peter Canisius, with holiness and learning for the defense of the Church. Through his intercession, grant that those who seek the truth may joyfully find You and that the people of believers may ever persevere in bearing witness to You. Amen🙏