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The Feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, Patron Saint of Catechists

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St. Robert Bellarmine

September 17th is the feast day of Saint Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, and patron saint of catechists and catechumens.

He was born in 1542 at the height of the Protestant Reformation. Like many saints, he was from a noble family and suffered form an assortment of health issues. He became a Jesuit and soon became a professor of theology writing in defense of the Catholic Church against the Protestant reformers.

Like his fellow patron of catechists, St. Charles Borromeo, Bellarmine wrote his own catechism for catechists to use to teach the faith. Unlike some bishops and cardinals who lived austere lives, Bellarmine gave much of his riches to the poor.

Want to teach your students about his life? Try this resource: Saint Robert Bellarmine Worksheet. It is one of the 100+ saint worksheets for members of The Religion Teacher.

Further Reading:

St. Robert Bellarmine Prayer

The Collect for his feast day:

God our Father,
you gave Robert Bellarmine wisdom and goodness
to defend the faith of your Church.
By his prayers
may we always rejoice in the profession of our faith.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Robert Belllarmine Videos

Consider viewing this video from the Fr. Kubicki and the Apostleship of Prayer on St. Robert Bellarmine’s feast day on September 17, 2010.

Or this video from Arcadia Films on Repentance:

About Jared Dees

Jared Dees is the creator of The Religion Teacher and the author of 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, Beatitales, Christ in the Classroom, and The Gospel According to Video Games.

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Comments

  1. Marc Cardaronella

    Bellarmine’s catechism was very important. It came at a time, right after the Reformation, when it was vital for people to understand what the Catholic Church really taught. He is a great catechetical saint. Thanks for the reminder.

    Love the new site!

  2. Christian

    I’ve always been impressed with Bellarmine’s correspondence with Galileo, which tends to explode the “Church Hates Science” meme.

  3. Bill Crofut

    St. Robert Bellarmine is one of my heroes. It’s my wish to obtain an English language
    copy each of the document of canonization and declaration as a Doctor of the Church.