The Dutch Jesuit St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597) was a leading figure of the Counter Reformation. A deeply prayerful man and indefatigable worker, he reanimated the Catholic Church in central Europe by preaching, writing, and founding Jesuit colleges.

Peter Canisius or Peter kanis, was born in the Dutch town of Nijmegen on May 8, 1521. He studied at the Latin school of St. Stephen there, and at 15 years of age he entered the University of Cologne. At the Carthusian monastery in Cologne he was influenced by the simple and ardent piety of the Devotio Moderna. In 1540 he became a master of arts and undertook the study of theology. In 1543 he heard about Pierre Favre, one of the first Jesuits, who was then at Mainz. He made the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola under Favre's direction and decided to become a Jesuit. He was ordained a priest in 1546.

Peter started a...