St. Peter Canisius, Confessor
and Doctor
(8 May 1521 – 21 December
1597)
Beatified 1864, Rome by Pope Pius IX
Canonized 21 May 1925, Rome by Pope Pius XI
Feast 21 December; 27 April; 21 December (After Vatican II)
Peter Canisius was a renowned Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest. He became
known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant
Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, and Switzerland. The
restoration of the Catholic Church in Germany after the Protestant Reformation
is largely attributed to the work there of the Society of Jesus, which he led.
He 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
now the Netherlands. His father was the wealthy burgermeister, Jacob Kanis; his
mother, Ægidia van Houweningen, who died shortly after Peter's birth. He was
sent to study at the University of Cologne, where he earned a Master's degree in
1540, at the age of 19. While there, he met Peter Faber, one of the founders of
the Society of Jesus. Through him, Canisius became the first Dutchman to join
the newly founded Society of Jesus in 1543.
Through his preaching and writings, Peter Canisius became one of the
most influential Catholics of his time. He supervised the founding and
maintenance of the first German-speaking Jesuit colleges, often with little
resources at hand. At the same time he preached in the city and vicinity, and
debated and taught in the university. Because of his frequent travels
between the colleges, a tedious and dangerous occupation at the time, he became
known as the Second Apostle of Germany.
Canisius also exerted a strong influence on the Emperor Ferdinand I. The
king's eldest son (later Maximilian II) appointed to the office of court
preacher, Phauser, a married priest, who preached the Lutheran doctrine.
Canisius warned Ferdinand I, verbally and in writing, and opposed Phauser in
public disputations. Maximilian was obliged to dismiss Phauser and, on this
account, the rest of his life he harboured a grudge against Canisius.
In 1547 he attended several sessions of the Council of Trent. 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. He was offered the post of Bishop of Vienna in 1554, but declined in
order to continue his traveling and teachings. He did, however, serve as
administrator of the Diocese of Vienna for one year, until a new bishop was
appointed for it.
He 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. Canisius was renowned as a popular
preacher.
By the time he left Germany, the Society of Jesus in Germany had evolved
from a small band of priests into a powerful tool of the Counter Reformation.
Canisius spent the last twenty years of his life in Fribourg, Switzerland,
where he founded the Jesuit preparatory school, the College of Saint Michael,
which trained generations of young men for careers and future university
studies.
In 1591, at the age of 70, 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. He was initially buried at the Church of
St. Nicholas. His 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 now a chapel open for the veneration of the
faithful.
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. His lasting contribution is
his three catechisms, which he published in Latin and German, which became
widespread and popular in Catholic regions. In his fight with German
Protestantism, he requested much more flexibility from Rome, arguing:
If you treat them right, the Germans will give you everything. Many err in
matters of faith, but without arrogance. They err the German way, mostly
honest, a bit simple-minded, but very open for everything Lutheran. An honest
explanation of the faith would be much more effective than a polemical attack
against reformers.
He rejected attacks against John Calvin and Melanchton: With words like
these, we don’t cure patients, we make them incurable.
Mariology of
Canisius
Canisius taught that, while there are many roads leading to Jesus
Christ, for him the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the best. His
sermons and letters document a clear preoccupation with Marian veneration.[8]
Under the heading "prayer" he explains the Ave Maria (Hail Mary), as
the basis for Catholic Marian piety. Less known are his Marian books, in which
he published prayers and contemplative texts. He is credited with adding to the
Hail Mary the sentence
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. Eleven years later it was
included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566.
Canisius published an applied Mariology for preachers, in which Mary is
described in tender and warm words. He actively promoted the sodalities of our
Lady and the rosary associations. Theologically, Canisius defended Catholic
Mariology, in his 1577 book, De Maria Virgine Incomparabili et Dei Genitrice
Sacrosancta Libri Quinque. The book was ordered by Pope Pius V to present a
factual presentation of the Catholic Marian teachings in the Bible, the early
Christians, the Church Fathers and contemporary theology. Canisius explains and
documents Church teachings through the ages regarding the person and character
of Mary, her virtues and youth. He traces historical documents about the
perpetual virginity of Mary, and her freedom from sin. He explains the dogma of
"Mother of God" with numerous quotations from the fathers after the
Council of Ephesus. He shows that Church teaching has not changed. He answers
the sola Scriptura arguments of Protestants by analyzing the biblical basis for
Mariology.
ST. PETER CANISIUS
Confessor and Doctor of the Church
Double – White vestments
Missa ‘In Medio Ecclesiae'
INTROITUS -
Ecclesiasticus 15: 5
In medio ecclesiæ aperuit os ejus: et implevit eum Dominus spiritu
sapientiæ, et intellectus: stolam gloriæ induit eum. Ps. 91: 2. Bonum est
confiteri Domino: et psallere nomini tuo, Altissime. Gloria Patri.
INTROIT
In the midst of the Church the Lord opened his mouth: and filled him
with the spirit of wisdom and understanding: He clothed him with a robe of
glory. Ps. It is good
to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to Thy Name, O Most High. Glory be to
the Father.
COLLECT
O God, Who for the defence of the Catholic Faith didst strengthen
blessed Peter, Thy confessor, with virtue and learning: vouchsafe in Thy loving
kindness, that by his example and precepts the erring may be restored to
salvation, and the faithful may persevere in the confession of the truth.
Through our Lord.
EPISTLE - II
Timothy 4: 1-8
Dearly beloved, I charge thee, before God and Jesus Christ, Who shall
judge the living and the dead, by His coming and His kingdom: preach the word:
be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience
and doctrine. For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires they will heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears, and will indeed turn away from the truth, but
will be turned into fables. But be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the
work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry. Be sober. For I am even now ready
to be sacrificed and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have fought the
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest,
there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just Judge,
will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love
His coming.
PASCHAL ALLELUIA
Alleluia. The just man shall spring as the lily: and shall flourish
forever before the Lord. Alleluia.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia, alleluia. V. The Lord loved him and adorned him: He clothed
him with a robe of glory. Alleluia.
GOSPEL - Matthew
5: 13-19
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: You are the salt of the
earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is
good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and be trodden on by men. You are
the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do
men light a candle and put it under a bushel but upon a candlestick, that it
may shine to all that are before men that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father, Who is in heaven. Do not think that I am come to destroy
the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For amen I
say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass
of the law, till all be fulfilled. He therefore that shall break one of these
least commandments, and so shall teach men, shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven: but he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven.
OFFERTORY -
Psalm 91:13
The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the
cedar of Libanus. Alleluia.
SECRET
May the holy prayer of Peter, Thy Doctor, fail us not, O Lord: may it
render our offerings acceptable, and ever obtain for us Thy pardon. Through our
Lord.
EASTER PREFACE
It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation that at all
times, but more especially at this season, we should extol Thy glory, O Lord,
when Christ our Pasch was sacrificed. For He is the true Lamb that hath taken
away the sins of the world. Who by dying hath overcome our death, and by rising
again hath restored our life. And therefore with Angels and Archangels, with
Thrones and Dominations, and with all the heavenly hosts, we sing a hymn to Thy
glory, saying without ceasing:
THE SANCTUS
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dóminus, Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et
terra glória tua. Hosánna in excélsis. Benedíctus, qui venit in nómine Dómini.
Hosánna in excélsis.
COMMUNION – Luke 12: 42
The faithful and wise servant, whom his lord setteth over his family: to
give them their measure of wheat in due season. Alleluia.
POSTCOMMUNION
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that blessed Peter, Thy illustrious Doctor may
join his prayers to ours that this sacrifice may bring us salvation. Through
our Lord.
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