Theodorich Canisius (1532 in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

– September 27, 1606 in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

) was a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

academic.

Biography

Canisius was a half-brother of St. Peter Canisius. After winning, at the age of twenty-two, the highest academic distinction at

Louvain Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

, he decided to follow his stepbrother and enter the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

, and was sent to St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome, who received him into the Society. On the completion of his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, Theodorich was appointed

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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, but was soon after appointed rector of the Jesuit College at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Here, in 1562, one of the first productions in Germany of the morality play ''Homulus'' (corresponding to the English ''Everyman'' or the Dutch ''

Elckerlijc ''Elckerlijc'' (also known as ''Elckerlyc'') is a morality play from the Low Countries which was written in Dutch somewhere around the year 1470. It was first printed in 1495. The play was extremely successful and may have been the original sou ...

'') was given in Latin by the students under his direction. From Munich, where he was succeeded in 1565 by the celebrated Paul Hoffaeus, he was transferred to Dillingen, where for twenty years he presided over the college and the academy and laboured with zeal and success for the improvement of studies and for the religious training of the students. From 1565 to 1582 he held the office of

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the university. In company with his distinguished brother, he attended the first provincial congregation of the Society of Jesus in Upper Germany, and furthered important reforms in the teaching of philosophy. In 1585 he was made rector of the

Jesuit College of Ingolstadt The Jesuit College of Ingolstadt () was a Jesuit school in Ingolstadt, in the Duchy and Electorate of Bavaria, founded in 1556, that operated until the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773. The college was the headquarters of the Jesuits in ...

, and in this capacity became a member of the German commission which tested in practice the first draft of the Ratio Studiorum. At length, having spent thirty years at the head of three of the foremost colleges of Germany, he was sent to

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

to enjoy a period of rest; but soon again, at the age of sixty-three, he had to undertake the government of the college of Ingolstadt. Two years later, on the advice of his physician, he was relieved of the burden and allowed to return to Lucerne. A fortnight after his arrival the death of St. Peter Canisius was announced; the shock deprived Theodorich of memory and speech, an affliction which he bore with exemplary patience for seven years. For his amiable disposition and spotless purity of life he deservedly received the surname of ''Angelus'' 'angel'. In 1604, he was transferred again to Ingolstadt, where he died, and was interred in the church of the Holy Cross.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canisius, Theodorich 1532 births 1606 deaths Dutch academics 16th-century Dutch Jesuits Clergy from Nijmegen 17th-century Dutch Jesuits