Robert Bellarmine

For more information on Saint Robert Bellarmine, visit Britannica.com.

View more Religion & Spirituality videos

Bellarmine, Robert (1542–1621), Jesuit, archbishop of Capua, and cardinal. Born at Montepulciano (Tuscany), he became skilled in writing Latin verse, playing the violin, and speaking in debates. In 1560 he became a Jesuit, taught classics in Florence and Piedmont for several years, and was ordained priest at Ghent in 1570. He then lectured on Aquinas' Summa Theologica at Louvain, attacking the opinions of Baius on grace and freewill, and wrote a Hebrew grammar. In 1576 he was appointed professor of ‘controversial theology’ at the Roman College: his lectures were the basis of his famous Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith. This work was a complete defence of Catholic teaching, which was so learned in Scripture, the Fathers, and Protestant theology that it was wrongly believed to be the work of a team of scholars. It had instant success, even in England, where it was banned by the Government. Other projects in which he was prominent included the revision of the Vulgate, the production of a catechism, which remained in frequent use for 300 years, and the recognition of Henry of Navarre as king of France.

He became Rector of the Roman College in 1592, provincial of Naples in 1594, and cardinal in 1598. This did not prevent him from continuing his former austerities such as living on bread and garlic, or from using the curtains of his apartment to clothe the poor. In 1602 he became archbishop of Capua: immediately he took a prominent share of pastoral and welfare work.

He resigned his see when he was recalled to Rome in 1605 to become Prefect of the Vatican Library and an active member of several Roman Congregations. His moderate views on the temporal power of the papacy lost him the favour of Sixtus V and may have delayed his canonization; but they were vindicated by later theologians. He was sympathetic to Galileo, but recommended caution to him and the need to distinguish hypothesis from proved truth. He also denounced the six major abuses common in the Roman curia.

In his old age Bellarmine withdrew from controversy and wrote books of devotion including the famous Ascent of the Mind to God. He died at the age of seventy-nine on 17 September. Physically very small, Bellarmine had great powers of intellect and sympathy. He used to pray daily for the Protestant theologians (including King James I), whom he opposed, but never made personal, vituperative attacks on them. He was canonized in 1930 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1931. Feast: 17 September, formerly 13 May.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

• Works published at Cologne (1617–21) and Rome (1942–50); Lives by J. Fuligatti (1624), D. Bartoli (1678), and X. M. Le Bachelet (1911); also by J. Broderick, Robert Bellarmine, Saint and Scholar (1961), superseding his earlier study (1928). See also E. A. Ryan, The Historical Scholarship of St. Bellarmine (1936) and A. Bernier, Un cardinal humaniste (1939)

Bellarmine, Saint Robert (bĕlär'mĭn), 1542-1621, Italian theologian, cardinal, Doctor of the Church, and a principal influence in the Counter Reformation. His full name was Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino. He joined the Jesuits (1560) and taught at Louvain (1569-76) and at the Roman College (1576). In 1599 he was made cardinal and from 1601 to 1605 he was archbishop of Capua. His theological works (in Latin) were polemical and widely noticed. His three-volume Disputationes de Controversiis Christianae Fidei (1586-93), the most lucid modern exposition of Catholic doctrine, called forth many Protestant replies. As Jesuits nearly always were, Cardinal Bellarmine was uncompromisingly ultramontane (see ultramontanism). He was an admirer of Galileo and a moderating influence at his trial. His devotional works have been translated frequently into English. Pope Pius XI canonized him in 1930 and declared him a Doctor of the Church the following year. Feast: May 13.

Bibliography

See biography by J. Brodrick (rev. ed. 1966).

Bellarmine, Robert (1542–1621), Jesuit theologian, spiritual writer, cardinal, and archbishop. Robert (Roberto Francesco Romolo) Bellarmine was born on 4 October 1542 in Montepulciano, Tuscany, to Vincenzo Bellarmine and Cintia Cervini. Attending the local Jesuit college, he proved himself to be an excellent student. During his studies, Bellarmine contemplated entering the Society of Jesus. Despite his father's initial opposition, he entered the novitiate at Rome in 1560. Upon the completion of his formation (immersion in the spirituality of the order) and his initial studies in philosophy, Bellarmine was sent in 1563 to the Jesuit colleges of Florence and Mondovì to teach classics. In 1567, he went to Padua to begin his theological studies. Completing his studies in Louvain, Bellarmine was ordained a priest in 1570.

In 1570, the Jesuits opened their own theological college at Louvain, where Bellarmine became its first Jesuit professor. Drawn into the religious controversies of the day, Bellarmine devoted his time to the study of Scripture, church history, and patristics. Utilizing the teachings of the church defined at the Council of Trent, Bellarmine's lectures were devoted to a defense of church doctrine against Luther and Calvin, whose theology he had studied.

Everard Mercurian, superior general of the Society of Jesus, established a professorship in controversial theology in 1576 at the Collegio Romano, to which he appointed Bellarmine. Pope Gregory XIII also requested that Bellarmine teach theology to the English and German missionary students at the college. These lectures became the foundation of his greatest work, Disputationes de controversiis Christianae fidei huius temporis haereticos (known as the Controversies), a three-volume synthesis of Catholic theology that appeared in 1586, 1588, and 1593. The Controversies was the most significant refutation of the theology of the reformers during the Reformation, and long remained Catholicism's most complete response to the issues raised by Protestantism. The Controversies avoids a polemical approach, presenting a balanced criticism of reform theology, pointing out both its strengths and its weaknesses.

At the end of 1589, Sixtus V named Bellarmine as theological advisor to Cardinal Enrico Gaetani, the pope's legate examining the conflict in the French church between those who supported the Huguenot king, Henry IV, and those who opposed his reign. This would be the first of several church-state disputes with which he would become involved.

Upon his return to Rome in 1590, Bellarmine resumed his responsibility as spiritual director within the Collegio Romano. In 1592, he was named rector of the college and was appointed to be a member of the commission established to draft a final version of the Ratio Studiorum, the outline of the curriculum for Jesuit schools. In 1594, Bellarmine was named provincial of the Jesuit province of Naples. He returned to Rome in 1597 as theological advisor to Pope Clement VIII, and published two catechisms, one designed for children and one designed for teachers.

Clement VIII entrusted Bellarmine with the important task of revising the official text of the Latin Vulgate Bible begun by Pope Sixtus V. Bellarmine corrected Sixtus V's text, which became known as the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate (1592), and remained the official Latin Bible of the Catholic Church until the twentieth century.

The pope elevated Bellarmine to the rank of cardinal on 3 March 1599, appointing him to various Roman Congregations and commissions. On 21 April 1602 Clement VIII appointed him archbishop of Capua. Leaving Rome to take up residence in his diocese, Bellarmine took his duties as bishop seriously, preaching every Sunday, visiting the parishes, renewing the spiritual life of the religious communities, and providing for the poor.

Bellarmine was called back to Rome by Pope Paul V in 1605 to serve on various congregations. The most important of these was the Holy Office, which would lead to his involvement in the Galileo case in 1615. Both Galileo and Bellarmine agreed that there was no conflict between Scripture and scientific findings. However, Bellarmine insisted on the literal interpretation of biblical passages. In 1616 he was chosen to deliver personally to Galileo the Holy Office's admonition forbidding him from teaching the heliocentric theory (that the earth circles the sun).

During his final years, Bellarmine wrote largely devotional treatises aimed at ordinary Christians that reflected his own personal prayer and piety, as well as the spirituality of the Catholic Reformation. The most popular of his ascetical treatises were De Ascensione Mentis in Deum (1614; The mind's ascent to God) and De Arte Bene Moriendi (1619; The art of dying well).

Robert Bellarmine died on 17 September 1621 in Rome. His life unfolded in the midst of the church's resolve to reform itself and to combat Protestantism. As the author of The Controversies and as a member of the Inquisition, he contributed to the fight against heresy. As a diligent reforming bishop and author of spiritual works, he contributed to the renewal of the church's life. In 1930 he was canonized by Pius XI and in the following year declared a Doctor of the Church, a title given to certain canonized ecclesiastical writers on account of the great advantage the church has gained from their doctrine.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Bellarmine, Robert. Spiritual Writings. Translated and edited by John Patrick Donnelly and Roland J. Teske. New York, 1989. Includes The Mind's Ascent to God by the Ladder of Created Things and The Art of Dying Well, with introductions.

Secondary Sources

Blackwell, Richard J. Galileo, Bellarmine, and the Bible. Notre Dame, Ind., 1991. Examines Bellarmine's involvement in the early phases of the Galileo affair, including documents.

Brodrick, James. The Life and Work of Blessed Robert Francis Cardinal Bellarmine, S.J., 1542–1621. 2 vols. New York, 1928. The best biography of Bellarmine; reprints Bellarmine's autobiography.

——. Robert Bellarmine: Saint and Scholar. London, 1961. Revised and condensed version of the earlier two-volume study.

Godman, Peter. The Saint as Censor: Robert Bellarmine Between Inquisition and Index. Leiden and Boston, 2000.

Kuntz, Paul G. "The Hierarchical Vision of St. Roberto Bellarmino." In Jacob's Ladder and the Tree of Life: Concepts of Hierarchy and the Great Chain of Being. Edited by Marion Leathers Kuntz and Paul Grimley Kuntz, pp. 111–130. New York, 1987.

Riedl, John O. "Bellarmine and the Dignity of Man." In Jesuit Thinkers of the Renaissance. Edited by Gerard Smith, pp. 193–226, 242–254. Milwaukee, 1939.

—FRANCESCO C. CESAREO

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)