Born in Tuscany in 1542, he was the son of Vincenzo and Cinzia, who was the sister of Pope Marcellus II. 

From the time he was a child, he showed a great aptitude for poetry and music, and one of his hymns about Mary Magdalene, is included in the Roman Breviary. 

An outstanding student, Robert devoted his studies to theology, Church history, and the fathers of The Church. 

He became a Jesuit novice in 1561 while studying in Rome and ultimately finished his studies at the University of Luvan of Flanders where he became the school’s first Jesuit professor. 

He became a Cardinal in 1599 and then was elected Cardinal Inquisitor. This made him one of the judges in the case of Giordano Bruno, who was tried and convicted of heresy, for theological beliefs in contrast to those of The Church, but also because he believed the stars were other suns, had their own planets, and that they might even support other life. 

He was condemned and burned at the stake. Robert also admonished his good friend, Galileo. 

But he was also devoted to the poor and disliked the trappings of his office so much that he had the curtains removed and donated to the poor to be used as clothing. 

Robert Bellarmine’s most famous effort was a three-volume work called: “Disputations of the Controversies of the Christian Faith”, which addressed the temporal power of the Pope while calling into question the divine right of kings which especially angered the kings of France and England. 

He died on this day in 1621.

St. Robert Bellarmine, please pray for us.