Peter Faber
Encyclopedia
Blessed
Peter Faver (French
Pierre Lefevre or Pierre Favre, Latin
Petrus Faver) (April 13, 1506 - August 1, 1546) was a French
Jesuit theologian
and a cofounder of the Society of Jesus
. He was beatified
by the Roman Catholic Church
on September 5, 1872.
. He was born in the village of Villaret, Savoy
, in the modern town of Saint-Jean-de-Sixt
(Haute-Savoie
). In his early life, he was a shepherd in the high pastures of the French Alps
(in the Savoy region). As a child, while he tended his father's sheep during the week, on Sunday he taught catechism
to other children. The instinctive knowledge of his vocation as an apostle inspired him with a desire to study. At first, he was entrusted to the care of a priest at Thônes
and later to a neighbouring school at La Roche-sur-Foron. Although without any definite plans for the future, he resolved to go to Paris
, France
.
His parents consented to the separation, and in 1525, Peter arrived in Paris. Here he acquired the learning he desired and found, quite unexpectedly, his real vocation. He was admitted gratuitously to the College of Sainte-Barbe, University of Paris. He shared lodging of a student from Navarre
, Francis of Xavier
, the future saint, in a tower which still existed in 1850. Faver and Xavier became intimately attached to each other, receiving the degree of master of arts on the same day in 1530. At the university, Peter also met Ignatius of Loyola
and became one of his associates. He tutored Ignatius in the Greek philosophy of Aristotle
while Ignatius tutored the former shepherd in spiritual matters.
Faver was ordained in 1534, the first priest for the later formed Society of Jesus
and received at Montmartre
, on August 15 of the same year, the vows of Ignatius and his five companions. To these first six volunteers, three others were to attach themselves.
After Ignatius, Peter Faver was the one whom Xavier and his companions esteemed the most eminent. He merited this esteem by his profound knowledge, his gentle sanctity, and his influence over souls. After graduation, these three, together with other Paris graduates, undertook a process of communal discernment. Ignatius appointed them all to meet at Venice
, and charged Faver to conduct them there. Leaving Paris November 15, 1536, Faber and his companions rejoined Ignatius at Venice in January, 1537. Ignatius then thought of going to evangelize the Holy Land
, but concluded God had destined him for a vaster field of action. They decided to bind themselves together in an apostolic community that became the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order.
Faber then moved to Rome
, and after some months of preaching and teaching, the Pope sent him to Parma
and Piacenza
, where he brought about a revival of Christian piety.
Recalled to Rome, Faber was sent to Germany
to uphold Catholicism at the Diet of Worms
. In reality the diets which the Protestants were enabled to hold through the weakness of Charles V
accomplished no good. From the Diet of Worms, convoked in 1540, he was called to the Diet of Ratisbon in 1541. Faber was startled by the unrest which Protestantism had caused in Germany, and by the state of decadence presented by Catholicism; and Faber saw that the remedy did not lie in discussions with the Protestants, but in the reform of the Roman Catholic — above all, of the clergy. For ten months, at Speyer
, at Ratisbon, and at Mainz
, he conducted himself with gentleness and success. It was above all by the Spiritual Exercises, that he accomplished most of his conversions. Princes, prelates, and priests revealed their consciences to him, and people were astounded by the efficacy of an apostolate accomplished so rapidly. Recalled to Spain by St. Ignatius, Faber tore himself away from the field where he had already gathered such a harvest, and won Savoy, which has never ceased to venerate him as a saint; but he had hardly been in Spain six months when by order of the Pope he was again sent to Germany.
This time for nineteen months, Faber was to work for the reform of Speyer, Mainz, and Cologne
— a difficult task. However, he gained the ecclesiastics little by little, changed their hearts, and discovered in the young many vocations. That he decided the vocation of St. Peter Canisius is in itself sufficient to justify his being called the Apostle of Germany. The Archbishop of Cologne, Hermann of Wied
, was already in favor of Lutheranism which he was later publicly to embrace. It was also at Cologne that Faber especially exercised his zeal. After spending some months at Leuven
, in 1543, where he implanted the seeds of numerous vocations among the young, he returned to Cologne. But he was forced by obedience to leave Germany in August, 1544, going at first to Portugal, later to Spain.
At the court of Lisbon
and that of Valladolid
, Faber was an angel of God. He was called to the principal cities of Spain, and everywhere inculcated fervor and fostered vocations. Let it suffice to mention that of Francis Borgia
, which he, more than anyone else, was the means of strengthening. Faber, at forty, was wasted by his incessant labours and his unceasing journeys always made on foot. The pope, however, thought of sending him to the Council of Trent
as theologian of the Holy See; John III of Portugal
wanted him to be made Patriarch
of Ethiopia
.
He was instrumental in establishing the Society of Jesus in Portugal, and was appointed by Pope Paul III to be one of the papal theologians at the Council of Trent, but he only made it to Rome on his way to the Council. Faber, weakened by fever on his journey, arrived there July 17, 1546, to die in the arms of St. Ignatius in Rome, on August 1, 1546, at the age of 40.
was going through his own trials at the University of Paris during the same time Faber (Favre), Xavier and Ignatius were laying the foundation of the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus and Calvinists long accused each other of stealing ideas from the other. Scholars believe this to be because of the similar backgrounds and philosophies of both groups.
Faber became an effective preacher and giver of the Spiritual Exercises, working in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany. Much of his ministry was in Germany. There he drew up guidelines for ecumenical dialogue with Lutherans, but unfortunately these were hardly put into practice. He was known, among the early companions of the Jesuits to be the finest guide for those making the Spiritual Exercises.
Those who had known him already invoked him as a saint. Saint Francis de Sales
, whose character recalled that of Faber's, never spoke of him except as a saint. Peter Faber was beatified on September 5, 1872. His feast is kept on August 8.
He is being honored as part of the 2006 Jesuit Jubilee Year which celebrates the spirit of the founders of the Society of Jesus on three special Jesuit anniversaries:
The jubilee year officially began December 3, 2005
These anniversaries were celebrated in the Jesuits Jubilee year 2006. Lecture series, publications, art and music events marked these anniversaries throughout 2006 at Regis University and within Jesuit institutions around the world.
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Peter Faver (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Pierre Lefevre or Pierre Favre, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Petrus Faver) (April 13, 1506 - August 1, 1546) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Jesuit theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and a cofounder of the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
. He was beatified
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
on September 5, 1872.
Biography
Peter Faver (the Latin and English for French-named Pierre Favre), grew up in far east central FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was born in the village of Villaret, Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
, in the modern town of Saint-Jean-de-Sixt
Saint-Jean-de-Sixt
Saint-Jean-de-Sixt is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies in the Aravis Range of the French Alps...
(Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
). In his early life, he was a shepherd in the high pastures of the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
(in the Savoy region). As a child, while he tended his father's sheep during the week, on Sunday he taught catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
to other children. The instinctive knowledge of his vocation as an apostle inspired him with a desire to study. At first, he was entrusted to the care of a priest at Thônes
Thônes
Thônes is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-Geography:The Fier flows northwestward through the middle of the commune and crosses the village.-References:*...
and later to a neighbouring school at La Roche-sur-Foron. Although without any definite plans for the future, he resolved to go to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
His parents consented to the separation, and in 1525, Peter arrived in Paris. Here he acquired the learning he desired and found, quite unexpectedly, his real vocation. He was admitted gratuitously to the College of Sainte-Barbe, University of Paris. He shared lodging of a student from Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, Francis of Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
, the future saint, in a tower which still existed in 1850. Faver and Xavier became intimately attached to each other, receiving the degree of master of arts on the same day in 1530. At the university, Peter also met Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
and became one of his associates. He tutored Ignatius in the Greek philosophy of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
while Ignatius tutored the former shepherd in spiritual matters.
Faver was ordained in 1534, the first priest for the later formed Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
and received at Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, on August 15 of the same year, the vows of Ignatius and his five companions. To these first six volunteers, three others were to attach themselves.
After Ignatius, Peter Faver was the one whom Xavier and his companions esteemed the most eminent. He merited this esteem by his profound knowledge, his gentle sanctity, and his influence over souls. After graduation, these three, together with other Paris graduates, undertook a process of communal discernment. Ignatius appointed them all to meet at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, and charged Faver to conduct them there. Leaving Paris November 15, 1536, Faber and his companions rejoined Ignatius at Venice in January, 1537. Ignatius then thought of going to evangelize the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, but concluded God had destined him for a vaster field of action. They decided to bind themselves together in an apostolic community that became the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order.
Faber then moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and after some months of preaching and teaching, the Pope sent him to Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, where he brought about a revival of Christian piety.
Recalled to Rome, Faber was sent to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to uphold Catholicism at the Diet of Worms
Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms 1521 was a diet that took place in Worms, Germany, and is most memorable for the Edict of Worms , which addressed Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation.It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding.Other Imperial diets at...
. In reality the diets which the Protestants were enabled to hold through the weakness of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
accomplished no good. From the Diet of Worms, convoked in 1540, he was called to the Diet of Ratisbon in 1541. Faber was startled by the unrest which Protestantism had caused in Germany, and by the state of decadence presented by Catholicism; and Faber saw that the remedy did not lie in discussions with the Protestants, but in the reform of the Roman Catholic — above all, of the clergy. For ten months, at Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, at Ratisbon, and at Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, he conducted himself with gentleness and success. It was above all by the Spiritual Exercises, that he accomplished most of his conversions. Princes, prelates, and priests revealed their consciences to him, and people were astounded by the efficacy of an apostolate accomplished so rapidly. Recalled to Spain by St. Ignatius, Faber tore himself away from the field where he had already gathered such a harvest, and won Savoy, which has never ceased to venerate him as a saint; but he had hardly been in Spain six months when by order of the Pope he was again sent to Germany.
This time for nineteen months, Faber was to work for the reform of Speyer, Mainz, and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
— a difficult task. However, he gained the ecclesiastics little by little, changed their hearts, and discovered in the young many vocations. That he decided the vocation of St. Peter Canisius is in itself sufficient to justify his being called the Apostle of Germany. The Archbishop of Cologne, Hermann of Wied
Hermann of Wied
Hermann of Wied was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1515 to 1546.-Biography:The fourth son of Frederick, count of Wied , Hermann was educated for the Church, he became elector and archbishop in 1515. He supported the claims of Charles V, whom he crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1520...
, was already in favor of Lutheranism which he was later publicly to embrace. It was also at Cologne that Faber especially exercised his zeal. After spending some months at Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, in 1543, where he implanted the seeds of numerous vocations among the young, he returned to Cologne. But he was forced by obedience to leave Germany in August, 1544, going at first to Portugal, later to Spain.
At the court of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and that of Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, Faber was an angel of God. He was called to the principal cities of Spain, and everywhere inculcated fervor and fostered vocations. Let it suffice to mention that of Francis Borgia
Francis Borgia
Saint Francis Borgia, 4th duke of Gandía, 3rd Father General of the Jesuit Order, Grandee of Spain, was a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was canonized on 20 June 1670.-Early life:He was born Francesco Borgia de Candia d'Aragon within the Duchy of Gandía,...
, which he, more than anyone else, was the means of strengthening. Faber, at forty, was wasted by his incessant labours and his unceasing journeys always made on foot. The pope, however, thought of sending him to the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
as theologian of the Holy See; John III of Portugal
John III of Portugal
John III , nicknamed o Piedoso , was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile...
wanted him to be made Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.
He was instrumental in establishing the Society of Jesus in Portugal, and was appointed by Pope Paul III to be one of the papal theologians at the Council of Trent, but he only made it to Rome on his way to the Council. Faber, weakened by fever on his journey, arrived there July 17, 1546, to die in the arms of St. Ignatius in Rome, on August 1, 1546, at the age of 40.
Historical Context
Strangely, John CalvinJohn Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
was going through his own trials at the University of Paris during the same time Faber (Favre), Xavier and Ignatius were laying the foundation of the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus and Calvinists long accused each other of stealing ideas from the other. Scholars believe this to be because of the similar backgrounds and philosophies of both groups.
Faber became an effective preacher and giver of the Spiritual Exercises, working in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany. Much of his ministry was in Germany. There he drew up guidelines for ecumenical dialogue with Lutherans, but unfortunately these were hardly put into practice. He was known, among the early companions of the Jesuits to be the finest guide for those making the Spiritual Exercises.
Posthumous recognition
Francis Xavier, Peter Faber and Ignatius of Loyola all became roommates at the University of Paris and are recognized by the Catholic Church's Jesuits as founders of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order.Those who had known him already invoked him as a saint. Saint Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and is a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher...
, whose character recalled that of Faber's, never spoke of him except as a saint. Peter Faber was beatified on September 5, 1872. His feast is kept on August 8.
He is being honored as part of the 2006 Jesuit Jubilee Year which celebrates the spirit of the founders of the Society of Jesus on three special Jesuit anniversaries:
- 500th anniversary of the birth of Francis Xavier - born April 7, 1506
- 500th anniversary of the birth of Peter Faber - born April 13, 1506
- 450th anniversary of the death of Ignatius Loyola - died July 31, 1556
The jubilee year officially began December 3, 2005
These anniversaries were celebrated in the Jesuits Jubilee year 2006. Lecture series, publications, art and music events marked these anniversaries throughout 2006 at Regis University and within Jesuit institutions around the world.