Saint Peter Canisius, Confessor & Doctor
S. Petri Canisii Confessoris et Ecclesiae Doctoris
Saint Peter Canisius was a Dutch priest of the Society of Jesus, a tireless preacher, teacher, and writer who laboured to strengthen the Catholic Faith in the German lands during the sixteenth century. The Church venerates him as a Confessor and a Doctor, and he is often called the second Apostle of Germany. He died at Fribourg in 1597.
Saint Peter Canisius was born at Nijmegen, in what is now the Netherlands, in the year 1521. A student of singular gifts, he was among the first to be drawn to the newly founded Society of Jesus, entering it under the influence of Blessed Peter Faber, one of the first companions of Saint Ignatius. Ordained priest, he gave himself wholly to the service of the Church in a season of great upheaval, when the unity of Christendom in the German-speaking lands was sorely tried.
A labourer in the German lands
For more than forty years Saint Peter Canisius traversed the cities and provinces of Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Switzerland, preaching, teaching, founding colleges, and counselling princes and prelates alike. He restored the Catholic faith where it had grown weak and confirmed it where it stood firm, always with a spirit of patience and charity rather than contention. He took part in the labours of the Council of Trent and was trusted by successive Popes with weighty affairs. So great was his work for the Church in those lands that he has long been honoured as the second Apostle of Germany, after Saint Boniface.
The teacher of the catechism
Among the enduring fruits of his life were the catechisms he composed, clear and orderly summaries of Catholic doctrine that instructed the faithful, young and old, for generations. Written with warmth and simplicity, they did much to nourish the Faith of countless souls. In his old age he settled at Fribourg in Switzerland, where he helped to found a college and continued to write and to pray until his death on the twenty-first of December, 1597. He was canonised and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1925.
The Collect
O God, who, to defend the Catholic Faith, didst strengthen blessed Peter, Thy Confessor, with virtue and learning: mercifully grant; that by his example and counsels the erring may return to salvation, and the faithful may persevere in the confession of the truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Deus, qui ad tuéndam cathólicam fidem beátum Petrum Confessórem tuum virtúte et doctrína roborásti: concéde propítius; ut eius exémplis et mónitis errántes ad salútem resipíscant, et fidéles in veritátis confessióne persevérent. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
Patronage
Saint Peter Canisius is honoured as a patron of catechists and of the Catholic press, on account of his celebrated catechisms and his abundant writings in defence of the Faith.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar, this feast is observed on 21 December, the day of his death.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Peter Canisius?
In the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 27 April as a Third-Class feast. In the modern calendar it is observed on 21 December, the day of his death.
Who was Saint Peter Canisius?
He was a Dutch Jesuit priest, preacher, and writer of the sixteenth century who laboured to strengthen the Catholic Faith in the German lands. He is venerated as a Confessor and a Doctor of the Church and is often called the second Apostle of Germany.
Why is he called a Doctor of the Church?
He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1925 in recognition of his learned and abundant writings, especially his catechisms, which instructed the faithful in Catholic doctrine for many generations.
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