Robert Bellarmine

Saint Robert Bellarmine, born Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino on October 4, 1542, in Montepulciano, Tuscany, and who died on September 17, 1621, in Rome, was an Italian Jesuit priest, theologian, and Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most prominent and influential intellectual figures of the Counter-Reformation. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1560 and taught theology at Louvain and the Roman College (later Gregorian University), where he educated many future ecclesiastical leaders. Made a Cardinal in 1599, he later became Archbishop of Capua, though he preferred his intellectual and pastoral activities in Rome. He is best known for his 'Disputationes de controversiis Christianae fidei', a monumental four-volume work that defended Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections. His work had a lasting impact on Catholic theology. He also served as an influential advisor to Popes Clement VIII and Paul V, and was involved in the trial of Giordano Bruno and the early phases of the Galileo affair. Canonized in 1930, he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1931.