David Wolfe, SJ (died 1578?) was an Irish

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 ...

who became

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

in Ireland.

Life

He was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. After seven years in Rome, under the guidance of

Ignatius Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the So ...

and

Francis Borgia Francis Borgia (; ; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of both Pope Alexander VI and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After the death of his w ...

, he entered the Society of Jesus about 1550, and became rector of the college at

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

. About August 1560, Wolfe returned to Ireland, with the powers of an apostolic legate. He was instructed to regulate public worship, and to keep up communication with the Catholic princes. He attracted the attention of the English officials and in 1561

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

stated to

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

, as one of her reasons for not sending representatives to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

, that Wolfe had been sent to excite disaffection. For several years he was unable to enter

The Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

. On 7 December 1563, he delegated his jurisdiction for Dublin and its vicinity to Thady Newman. In 1564, the Pope, by a bull dated 31 May, entrusted to Wolfe and Richard Creagh the erection of universities and schools in Ireland. In the early 1560s, Wolfe sent a number of Irish Catholic clerics to Rome. About 1566, he was arrested and imprisoned in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

. In 1572, his release was paid for by a merchant, acting indirectly for Portuguese Jesuits. Wolfe went to Spain, but returned again to Ireland. On 14 April 1577,

Sir William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire, ...

informed

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

that Wolfe was to be sent to the Indies. On 24 March 1578, Drury informed the privy council that James Fitzmaurice had put to sea with Wolfe, and had captured an English ship, whose crew had been handed over to the Inquisition. But the end of Wolfe's life is obscure. He was in dispute with the Portuguese Jesuits who had arranged for his release. He also had to leave the Society of Jesus. On 28 June 1578,

Everard Mercurian Everard Mercurian (1514 – 1 August 1580) was the fourth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Early life Born 'Lardinois' into a humble family in Marcourt, near La Roche-en-Ardenne in what is now the province of Luxembourg in 1514, in t ...

, the General of the Jesuits, wrote to James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald, whose chaplain Wolfe had been at one time, stating that he would be glad of employment for Wolfe. It is assumed that Wolfe died within a year, since records of him end.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, David Year of birth missing 1578 deaths 16th-century Irish Jesuits Diplomats for the Holy See Christian clergy from Limerick (city)