St Peter Canisius SJ, the second apostle of Germany by Jesuits in Britain published on 2015-04-17T09:32:48Z Peter Canisius was born in 1521 at Nijmegen, in what is now The Netherlands. After studying at Cologne he joined the Society of Jesus and was ordained in 1546. He was sent to Germany, where for many years he strove to defend and consolidate the Catholic faith by writing and preaching. Among his works, his Catechism holds pride of place. He died in 1597 at Fribourg in Switzerland, and was canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Saint Peter Canisius is rightly known as the second apostle of Germany. On receiving the apostolic blessing before embarking on mission to Germany, he received a mystical experience which he described as follows. “Eternal High Priest, in your great goodness it pleased you that I should seek from you the Apostles’ confirmation and success for the apostolic blessing I had received. For pilgrims come to pray to them in the Vatican, and there by your power they work miracles. I experienced there a great consolation and the sense of the presence of your grace which was being offered to me through their intercession. They gave me their blessing too, confirmed my mission to Germany, and seemed to be promising me their goodwill as apostle of Germany. You know, Lord, how urgently and how often that day you entrusted Germany to me, telling me ever after to have her good at heart, and to wish to live and die on her behalf. Finally, my Saviour, I seemed to be gazing at the Heart of your Sacred Body with my own eyes. It was as if you opened it to me and told me to drink from it as from a spring, inviting me to draw the waters of salvation from these springs of your. I was filled with longing that the waters of faith, hope and charity would flow from your Heart into me. I thirsted for poverty, chastity and obedience; I begged you to wash me all over and dress me in fine clothing. Then I dared to touch your beloved Heart and bury my thirst in it; and you promised me a robe woven in three parts to cover my naked soul and help me greatly in my undertaking. These three parts were peace, love and perseverance. Secure in the protecting of this garment, I was confident that I would lack nothing, and that everything would turn out for your glory. Genre Jesuit