Roberto Bellarmino

Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino (1542, Montepulciano – 1621, Rome) was an Italian cardinal and opponent of the Reformation. He played a leading role in the catholic Counter-Reformation. Bellarmino entered the Society of Jesus in 1560. His catechism of 1597 was very popular and greatly influenced later works. He was made a cardinal in 1599 and was appointed archbishop of Capua in 1602. He advised the Holy Office about Galileo’s writings and urged upon Galileo to regard the Copernican theory as a hypothesis. A complete edition of Bellarmino’s works was published in 12 volumes (1870-1874). He was canonized in 1930 (feast day September 17) and named doctor ecclesiae (doctor of the church) by pope Pius IX in 1931.