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St. Peter Canisius: Saint and Doctor of the Church

Today, on the Traditional Calendar is the feast of the sixteenth century saint, St. Peter Canisius, Dutch Jesuit priest and Doctor of the Church. Troubled by the poor formation of the Catholic people he encountered on his travels, Fr. Canisius wrote a simple catechism that has been in print since he wrote it, a popular book for centuries: the Canisius catechism.

Peter Canisius (1521-97) was drawn to the Society of Jesus by the preaching of Bl. Peter Faber, the first disciple of St. Ignatius.  Peter Canisius realized that in the Germany where Luther had recently been preaching heresy, many Catholics had no clear knowledge of their religion. He wrote a catechism that was of incomparable value to the heroic missioners of the Catholic Counter Reformation. He was a pioneer of the Catholic press, and founder of many Catholic colleges in Germany, Austria, and Bohemia. According to the Catechism of Petrus Canisius, ‘the veneration of the Virgin Mary, is the best way to Jesus Christ and His Church.’ source

“The veneration of the Virgin Mary, is the best way to Jesus Christ and His Church.”  

St. Peter Canisius, pray for us.

•SCF