St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Feast day: Sept. 17
St. Robert Bellarmine was an Italian cardinal and a Jesuit theologian who was a powerful defender of the Church during the counter-Reformation and who became a Doctor of the Church. Born in 1542 to an impoverished noble family, he chose to become a priest despite his father’s initial hopes that instead he would restore the family’s fortune. Bellarmine became an influential scholar after studying philosophy and theology at several universities. As a Cardinal, he became a confidant to three popes who relied on his scholarly advice, was the rector of the Roman College, and examiner of bishops. He also served the pastoral life as an archbishop and bishop to two Italian dioceses. Nevertheless, despite his renown and extensive published works, Cardinal Bellarmine was known to take a personal interest in the poor and lived a very simple and austere life so that he could lavishly help those in need. He had a spirit of prayer and detachment from sin, such that his disinterestedness in worldliness contrasted sharply with the trappings of being a Jesuit. Cardinal Bellarmine died a pauper although his most famous work “Disputations on the Controversies” is still considered a classic in responding to Protestantism.
St. Robert Bellarmine became an influential scholar after studying philosophy at the Roman College and first studying theology at the University of Padua and then at the University of Louvain in Belgium, where he was appointed the first Jesuit professor of theology after his ordination. Living in the Low Countries, Bellarmine was put in a position where he had to define his beliefs amidst an atmosphere strong in Protestant doctrines on grace and free will. He then returned to Rome and taught polemical theology at the new Roman College. He devoted himself to the study of Church history and the Fathers of the Church — topics neglected at that time. Together with a study of Sacred Scripture, he organized Church doctrine in response to the attacks of the Protestants reformers. Bellarmine also became well-versed on the writings especially of Martin Luther and John Calvin.
Defending the pope against anti-clerical attacks, St. Robert Bellarmine wrote books against heresies common at that time in an attempt to spread knowledge of true Christian doctrine to all parts of the world. Strongly supporting the reform decrees of the Council of Trent, Bellarmine was involved by his writings in the political, religious and social issues of his age. He argued with King James I of England but was also the spiritual director of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. Bellarmine helped St. Francis de Sales obtain approval for the Visitation Order. Cardinal Bellarmine was named to papal commissions on revising the Vulgate Bible in Latin and preparing a new edition of the Septuagint Bible in Greek, and he also published his own catechism. Unafraid to differ with other writers, Cardinal Bellarmine was known for always maintaining a civil discourse with those holding different theological positions.
One of the most powerful men in Rome, St. Robert Bellarmine was known to give almost all of his money to the poor, to include the tapestries of his walls. He ate only food available to the poor. Although he lived very simply, he ensured that his servants and aides had everything they needed. Also named as Archbishop of Capua, Bellarmine was known for his outreach to his people as he traveled to preach to them and introduce the reforms of the Council of Trent in his Archdiocese. He also encouraged his clergy and the religious men and women to renew the Church.
As St. Robert Bellarmine aged, he asked to move into the Jesuit novitiate to retire and died of a fever shortly thereafter. Born on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Cardinal Bellarmine died on September 17, now the feast in honor of the stigmata of St. Francis, a saint to whom he held a special devotion. Due to differences over his writings, St. Robert Bellarmine was not beatified until 1923. He was canonized in 1930 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1931.
Reflection
Oh God, may I believe so wholeheartedly that you are the Truth which can set me free, that I will be unafraid to use my talents to spread your Word. Help me to love the poor and all of those around me.
Prayer
O God, who adorned the Bishop Saint Robert Bellarmine
with wonderful learning and virtue
to vindicate the faith of your Church,
grant, through his intercession,
that in the integrity of that same faith
your people may always find joy.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
