Biography

Robert Bellarmine held several titles in his lifetime. Born in the central part of Italy (Tuscany) in 1542, Bellarmine developed into a good student of theology and eventually became a professor of theology. But he was also a cardinal and archbishop in the order of the Jesuits. Bellarmine did not shy away from a good debate. Some would refer to him as a controversialist. He was an apologist of church doctrine at a time when Calvin and Luther were"reforming" church doctrine. Controversies, a three-volume work in defense of Catholic theology, is considered one of Bellarmine's most significant accomplishments. So knowledgeable was Bellarmine in theology; he was an advisor to Pope Clement VIII and published a catechism curriculum for students and instructors. The Latin Vulgate Bible's test was revised by Bellarmine in 1592. It was Bellarmine who confronted Galileo about his teaching that the Sun is the center of the universe. In his final years, Bellarmine wrote several devotionals as well as a treatise entitled The Art of Dying Well (1619). In the city of Rome, Bellarmine died in September 1621.

Wailand Groenendyk
CCEL Staff Writer