What are Cardinal Bellarmine's accomplishments?

Answer 1

St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) was one of the greatest intellects and saints of the Catholic reform. He was a member of the Society of Jesus, and was a professor at Louvain, where he was ordained. He went to Rome in 1576, serving as a professor of the Jesuit institution of the Collegium Romanum. He was made a Cardinal by Pope Clement VIII in 1599, and appointed archbishop of Capua in 1602. He was the theologian who was consulted in the Galileo's case. He is famous for his definition for the Catholic Church which reads:

The one and true Church is the assembly of men, bound together by the profession of the same Christian faith, and by the commission of the same sacraments, under the rule of legitimate pastors, and in particular the one Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff.

He wrote numerous highly influential works, and participated in the Clementine edition of the Vulgate. He died a pauper, having spent many years working to relieve the poor. He was revered as the foremost saintly figure of the late Counter-Refomation and was noted for his impartial treatment of protestant writings and ideas.

extracted from OSV's Encyclopedia of Catholic History - Revised, by Matthew Bunson, D.Min, c 1995, 2004 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., Huntington, Indiana