Bellarmine, Saint Robert Francis Romulus, << BEHL ahr mihn or BEHL ahr meen, saynt ROB uhrt FRAN sihs RAHM yoo luhs >> (1542-1621), an Italian Jesuit theologian, defended the rights of the Roman Catholic Church in an age of absolutism. He joined the Jesuit order in 1560 and taught theology at the University of Louvain from 1570 to 1576. He was made a cardinal in 1599 and archbishop of Capua in 1602. Bellarmine wrote many works. He was one of the key figures in the defense of the Roman Catholic Church against the growing absolutism of kings and against Protestantism. He was canonized (proclaimed a saint) by Pope Pius XI in 1930. His feast day is September 17. He was born on Oct. 4, 1542, at Montepulciano, Italy. He died on Sept. 17, 1621.
