Henry Fitzsimon (Fitz Simon; 1566 or 1569 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

– 29 November 1643 or 1645, probably at

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

) 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 ...

controversialist.

Life

Raised a Protestant, he was educated at Oxford (

Hart Hall Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

, and perhaps Christ Church), 1583-1587. Going to the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, he became a zealous supporter of Protestantism, "with the firm intention to have died for it, if need had been". But having engaged in controversy with "an owld English Jesuit, Father Thomas Darbishire, to my happiness I was overcome." Having embraced Catholicism, he visited

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, where in 1592, he "elected to militate under the Jesuits' standard, because they do most impugn the impiety of heretics". In 1595, there was a call for Jesuits in Ireland, which had been deprived of them for ten years. With James Archer he refounded the mission there. Keeping chiefly to Dublin and

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, he reconciled Protestants, and persistently challenged the chief Anglican divines. He laughed at his capture in 1600. "Now", he said, "my adversaries cannot say that they do not know where to find me", and he would shout challenges from his prison window at every passing parson. His major opponents in controversy were

James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific Irish scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ...

, Meredith Hanmer, and John Rider. Banished in 1604, he visited Spain, Rome, and Flanders, 1611-1620. At the outbreak of the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

in 1620, he served as chaplain to the Irish soldiers in the imperial army, and published a diary of his experiences. It is theorized that he returned to Flanders in 1621 and in 1630 went back to Ireland where he continued to work until the outbreak of the Civil War (1640). He was under sentence of death, from which he escaped in the winter of 1641 to the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

, and (possibly) died in Kilkenny.

Works

*A controversial work in manuscript, at

Oscott College St Mary's College in New Oscott, Birmingham, sometimes called Oscott College, is the Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham in England and one of two seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales in England, with Allen ...

, Birmingham, entitled "A revelation of contradictions in reformed articles of religion", dated 1633 *two manuscript treatises, now lost, against Rider *"A Catholic Confutation" (Rouen, 1608) * (1614) * (1620) * (Brünn, 1621, several editions, also Italian and English versions) * (1611, several editions), drawing attention to Irish hagiography. His "Words of Comfort to Persecuted Catholics", "Letters from a Cell in Dublin Castle", and "Diary of the Bohemian War of 1620", together with a sketch of his life, were published by

Edmund Hogan Edmund Ignatius Hogan S.J. (23 January 1831 – 26 November 1917) was an Irish Jesuit scholar. Life Hogan was born at Belvelly near Cobh, County Cork on 23 January 1831, the youngest son of William Hogan and his wife Mary Morris. He joined the ...

(Dublin, 1881).

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **Henry Fitzsimon
''Words of comfort to persecuted Catholics, written in exile, anno 1607, Letters from a cell in Dublin castle, and Diary of the Bohemian war of 1620,''
(Dublin, 1881) **

, ''Distinguished Irishmen of the Sixteenth Century'' (Dublin, 1894), 198-310 ** Henry Foley, ''Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus'', VII, 260; **

Sommervogel Carlos Sommervogel (8 January 1834 – 4 March 1902) was a French Jesuit scholar. He was author of the monumental ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', which served as one of the major references for the editors of the Catholic Encyclo ...

, ''Bibliothèque'', III, 766-768; ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimon, Henry 1560s births 1640s deaths 16th-century Irish Jesuits Alumni of Hart Hall, Oxford Christian clergy from Dublin (city) 17th-century Irish Jesuits 16th-century Irish writers 16th-century Irish male writers 17th-century Irish writers 17th-century Irish male writers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism People of Elizabethan Ireland Place of birth missing

Life

Works

See also

References