Saint Peter Canisius

Author, preacher, catechist, and builder of schools, Saint Peter Canisius was a leading Jesuit force in the central European Counter Reformation. By making his vows before Peter Favre in Mainz in 1543, he became the first German son of the Society of Jesus. When he died in 1597, he had founded eighteen colleges from Messina in Sicily to Hungary, written thirty-seven books, and inspired countless fellow Jesuits in their disputations with the rising tide of Reformers. Originally published in 1935, this story reveals the early struggles of Canisius, his many years of dedicated leadership in the Society, and the history of his Summary of Christian Doctrine, which appeared in two Catechism versions and some 200 printings during his lifetime.