29 Facts About Peter Canisius

Peter Canisius was a Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest.

Peter Canisius became known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland and the British Isles.

Peter Canisius is venerated in the Catholic Church as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church.

Peter Canisius was born in 1521 in Nijmegen in the Duchy of Guelders, which, until 1549, was part of the Habsburg Netherlands within the Holy Roman Empire and is the Netherlands.

Peter Canisius was sent to study at the University of Cologne, where he earned a master's degree in 1540, at the age of 19.

Peter Canisius supervised the founding and maintenance of the first German-speaking Jesuit colleges, often with little resources at hand.

Peter Canisius warned Ferdinand I, verbally and in writing, and opposed Phauser in public disputations.

Peter Canisius was an influential teacher and preacher, especially through his "German Catechism", a book which defined the basic principles of Catholicism in the German language and made them more accessible to readers in German-speaking countries.

Peter Canisius was offered the post of Bishop of Vienna in 1554, but declined in order to continue his traveling and teachings.

Peter Canisius did serve as administrator of the Diocese of Vienna for one year, until a new bishop was appointed for it.

Peter Canisius moved to Germany, where he was one of the main Catholic theologians at the Colloquy of Worms in 1557, and later served as the main preacher in the Cathedral of Augsburg from 1559 to 1568, where he strongly witnessed to his faith on three or four occasions each week.

Peter Canisius won converts in Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Poland.

Peter Canisius spent the last twenty years of his life in Fribourg, where he founded the Jesuit College Saint-Michel, which trained generations of young men for careers and future university studies.

In 1591, at the age of 70, Peter Canisius suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed, but he continued to preach and write with the aid of a secretary until his death in Fribourg.

Peter Canisius was initially buried at the Church of St Nicholas.

Peter Canisius's remains were later transferred to the church of the Jesuit College, which he had founded and where he had spent the last year of his life, and interred in front of the main altar of the church; the room he occupied during those last months is a chapel open for the veneration of the faithful.

Peter Canisius lived during the height of the Protestant Reformation and dedicated much of his work to the clarification of the Catholic Faith in light of the emergence of the new Protestant doctrines.

Peter Canisius's lasting contribution is his three catechisms, which he published in Latin and German, which became widespread and popular in Catholic regions.

Peter Canisius taught that, while there are many roads leading to Jesus Christ, for him the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the best.

Peter Canisius published an applied Mariology for preachers, in which Mary is described in tender and warm words.

Peter Canisius actively promoted the sodalities of our Lady and the rosary associations.

Theologically, Peter Canisius defended Catholic Mariology in his 1577 book, De Maria Virgine Incomparabili et Dei Genitrice Sacrosancta Libri Quinque.

Peter Canisius explains and documents Church teachings through the ages regarding the person and character of Mary, her virtues and youth.

Peter Canisius explains the dogma of "Mother of God" with numerous quotations from the fathers after the Council of Ephesus.

From today's perspective, Peter Canisius clearly erred in some of his sources, but, because of his factual analysis of original sources, it is considered as representing one of the best theological achievements in the 16th century.

Peter Canisius was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1864, and later canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church on 21 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

Furthermore, a Jesuit-run Peter Canisius Kolleg can be found in Berlin, Germany.

In 1850 the Peter Canisius Hospital was established on the corner of the Houtmarkt and the Pauwelstraat in Nijmegen.

The Apologetisch Vereniging St Petrus Canisius was founded in the Netherlands in 1904 to defend the Catholic Church against socialism and liberalism.