‹ The Bishops
Counter-Reformation · Saint
St Robert Bellarmine
Archbishop of Capua
Doctor of the ChurchReformerConfessor
1542 – 1621
1570
Ordained
1602
Consecrated Bishop
Capua
Diocese
Italy
Country
The Life
Robert Bellarmine was an Italian Jesuit, theologian, and cardinal, one of the foremost minds of the Counter-Reformation. Ordained in 1570, he became renowned for his systematic 'Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith,' the leading Catholic answer to Protestantism.
Appointed Archbishop of Capua in 1602, he later returned to Rome to serve the Holy See. Canonized in 1930, he was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1931 by Pius XI.
Notable Actions
- Authored the multi-volume 'Disputationes de Controversiis' against Protestant claims
- Wrote two influential catechisms used for generations
- As a member of the Holy Office, conveyed the Church's 1616 admonition to Galileo on heliocentrism
- Served as Archbishop of Capua (1602-1605), carrying out the reforms of Trent
- Named Doctor of the Church in 1931; patron of canon lawyers and catechists
The school of Christ is the school of charity.
The Art of Dying WellPortrait: Unknown authorUnknown author / Wikimedia Commons