Saint Peter Canisius

Peter Canisius was born in Nijmegen, in Guelders, on May 8, 1521 — four years after Luther had posted his theses. He studied in Cologne and earned a degree in philosophy at nineteen. In 1543 he made the Spiritual Exercises with Peter Faber, one of Ignatius’s first companions, and joined the Society of Jesus: he was the first Dutch Jesuit. He was given the hardest front there was. Germany was splitting in two, and Canisius spent forty years crisscrossing it: Vienna, Prague, Ingolstadt, Augsburg, Innsbruck, Fribourg. He founded colleges, reorganized universities and preached in half-empty cathedrals. And he wrote the book he deserves to be remembered for. In 1555 he published the first Catholic catechism, in three versions — one for theologians, one for students, one for children. It was a very simple and enormously effective idea: short questions and answers, to be learned by heart. More than two hundred editions came out while he was still alive, translated into fifteen languages, and in Germany for centuries “the Canisius” simply meant the catechism. For his time, his tone was remarkably moderate: he wrote that with Protestants one had to argue without insulting them, and that abuse had never converted anyone. He died in Fribourg on December 21, 1597. Pius XI proclaimed him a saint and Doctor of the Church in 1925. If your name is Peter, today is your name day.