Sisto Fabri (4 August 1540 – 1594) was a theologian and canon lawyer of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

who was appointed

Master of the Sacred Palace In the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household () is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's theologian. The title w ...

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

serving from 1580 to 1583, and

Master of the Order of Preachers The Master of the Order of Preachers is the Superior General of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order, Dominicans. The Master of the Order of Preachers is ''ex officio'' Chancellor (education), Grand Chancellor of the Pont ...

from 1583 to 1589.

Early biography

Fabri was born 4 August 1540 at Villa Basilica, near

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

, Italy. Shortly after his birth his family moved to Naples.

Formation

Fabri entered the

in 1556 at the convent of

Santa Caterina a Formiello Santa Caterina a Formiello is a church in Naples, in southern Italy, located at the extreme eastern end of the old historic center of the city, on Via Carbonara and Piazza Enrico de Nicola, near the gate called Porta Capuana. The term ''Formiello' ...

. After completing his studies there Fabri began teaching there in 1563. Fabri was later sent to

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

to study

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

.''Treccani.it, L'encicolpedia Italiana, Dizionario Biografico'
Treccani.it
Accessed 10 August 2013

Career

In the mid-1550s Fabri served as professor of theology at the Dominican ''studium'' at

Santa Maria sopra Minerva Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major Church (building), churches of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominicans) in Rome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was b ...

, the forerunner of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''. In 1571 he became the secretary of the

Serafino Cavalli Serafino Cavalli (died 1578) was the Master of the Order of Preachers from 1571 to 1578. A native of Brescia, Cavalli served as a member of the Holy Office under Pope Paul IV.

whom he accompanied during his visitations to many provinces.Benedict M. Ashley, ''The Dominicans'', ch. 5
Later Cavalli appointed Fabri as Provincial for the Holy Land and Procurator for the Order. In 1576 while prior of the convent at Santa Maria sopra Minerva Fabri taught theology at the University of Rome. During this time he came to know

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno ( , ; ; born Filippo Bruno; January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astrologer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which concep ...

who was a guest at the convent. During his priorship in 1577 the ''studium'' at the Minerva was reorganized in light of the generous donation of Juan Solano, O.P., former bishop of Cusco, Peru and became the College of St. Thomas, the forerunner of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''. In 1580 Fabri was appointed

. Fabri was asked in 1581 to examine the texts of

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...

who was travelling through Rome at the time. After Fabri examined Montaigne's ''Essais'' the text was returned to its author on 20 March 1581. Montaigne had apologized for references to the pagan notion of "fortuna" as well as for writing favorably of

Julian the Apostate Julian (; ; 331 – 26 June 363) was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism ...

and of heretical poets, and was released to follow his own conscience in making emendations to the text. In 1582 Fabri collaborated on the new edition of the ''Corpus iuris canonici'' for Pope Gregory. At the Dominican

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of 1583, he was elected

. As master, he issued a ''Ratio Studiorum'' ordering negligent teachers to be imprisoned. During his mastership, the Uniate Friars of Armenia were raised to a Dominican province and allowed to wear their

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

. As master, he was responsible for testing the

stigmata Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...

of St.

Catherine of Ricci Catherine de' Ricci, OP () (23 April 1522 – 2 February 1590), was an Italian Catholic nun in the Third Order of St. Dominic. She is believed to have had miraculous visions and corporeal encounters with Jesus Christ. She is also said to have ...

. In 1584 Fabri received what was probably an honorary doctorate from the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara () is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of ...

. In May 1589 Fabri was removed from office as

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

and a successor was elected at the Chapter of 21 May. The official reason was Fabri's support for Maria da Visitação (María Lobo de Meneses), a Portuguese Dominican nun who confessed to faking the stigmata in 1588. Fabri then retired to Florence under the protection of

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I, who presumably died from malaria. Early life Ferdinando was the ...

. He returned to Rome only after the death of Pope Sixtus V (

1590 Events January–March * January 6 – García Hurtado de Mendoza becomes the new Viceroy of Peru (nominally including most of South America except for Brazil). He will serve until 1596. * January 10 – Construction of th ...

) and lived the remaining years of his life at the convent of

Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina (, ) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. Santa Sabina is the oldest ex ...

where he was buried in 1594.Emmanuel Rodocanachi, ''Una cronica di Santa Sabina sull'aventino'', 3
Google Books
Accessed 10 August 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabri, Sisto Italian Dominicans Masters of the Order of Preachers 1540 births 1594 deaths People from Villa Basilica