CANISIUS, ST. PETRUS

(1521–1597)

   Jesuit priest; his Dutch name was Pieter Kanis. After studying theology and canon law in Cologne and Louvain, in 1543 he became the first Dutch member of the Society of Jesus and devoted himself to the Counter-Reformation. His popular catechism Summa doctrina Christianae (1555) was translated into many languages. Canisius worked in Vienna, Augsburg (Germany), and Fribourg (Switzerland) and traveled a lot as preacher and teacher. He was canonized in 1925.