First we must reform our lives, then the Church, says Pope

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "There can be no true reform of the Church unless we first reform our lives and convert our hearts”. "Doctor of the Church", St. Robert Bellarmine, teaches us this "with great clarity and the example of his life”, which Benedict XVI outlined today for the eight thousand people who attended the general audience.

The Pope urged people to meditate on the writings and teachings of the great Jesuit theologian who lived between the sixteenth and seventeenth century, author of the famous Catechism, because they "remind us that the end of our lives is the Lord God, revealed in Jesus Christ, who continues to call and promise us communion with Him. They reminds us of the importance to confide in the Lord, to illuminate with prayer every circumstance of our lives and always strive for union with Him. "

Robert Bellarmine, the Pope said, was born in Montepulciano, Tuscany, 4 October 1542. He was a nephew, on his mother's side, of Pope Marcellus II. He had an excellent education in the liberal arts before entering the Society of Jesus September 20, 1560. He pursued studies in philosophy and theology at the Collegio Romano, Padua and Louvain. Ordained a priest March 25, 1570, was for some years professor of theology at Louvain. Then, called to Rome as a professor, he was appointed the chair of "Apologetics" at the Collegio Romano.  I the decade in which he held that office (1576 - 1586) he worked out a course of lectures which were later developed into the "Controversiae", a “work which found immediate fame for the clarity and richness of content and historical perspective".

They are a "reference point that is still valid for the Catholic ecclesiology regarding questions about revelation, the nature of the Church, the sacraments, theological anthropology. The institutional aspect of the Church appears accentuated in them, by reason of the errors which circulated on these issues at the time. However Bellarmine clarified aspects of the invisible Church such as the Mystical Body". In his work Bellarmine "avoids all aggressive polemics regarding the ideas of the Reformation, but using the arguments of reason and tradition of the Church, explains Catholic doctrine in a clear and effective manner”. In fact, the Council of Trent had just ended and the Catholic Church needed to "strengthen and confirm its identity, particularly concerning the Protestant Reformation". Bellarmine’s activities must be seen in this context.

Clement VIII appointed him papal theologian, consultant to the Holy Office and dean of the College Confessors of St. Peter’s Basilica. His catechism, the short Christian Doctrine, dates to the biennium 1597 – 1598, and was his most popular work.

On March 3, 1599 he was created cardinal by Pope Clement VIII, and on March 18, 1602, was appointed Archbishop of Capua. In the three years when he was bishop of the diocese, he "distinguished himself by his zealous preaching in his cathedral, for his weekly visits to the parishes, for the three diocesan synods and provincial council, held on his initiative”.

Recalled to Rome, he was made a member of the Congregations of the Holy Office, the Index, the Rites, of Bishops and the Propagation of the Faith. He was also entrusted with diplomatic assignments to the Venetian Republic and Britain to defend the rights of the Apostolic See. In his later years he wrote several books on spirituality, in which condensed the result of his annual spiritual exercises, in the tradition of St. Ignatius. "The Christian people still draw great edification from reading these".

He died in Rome September 17, 1621. Pope Pius XI beatified him in 1923 and canonized him in 1930 and proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1931.

In the writings of Bellarmine, "on sees very clearly, even beneath the reserve that hides his feelings, the primacy which he assigns to the teachings of the Lord." St. Bellarmine "offers us a model of prayer, the soul of all activity: a prayer that listens to the Word of God, which is satisfied in contemplating its greatness, which does not withdraw into itself, but is glad to surrender to God." The hallmark of his spirituality is "the living and personal perception of the immense goodness of God". It was for him " a source of great joy to gather with serenity and simplicity, in prayer, and contemplation of God."

During the audience, addressing the audience in English, Benedict XVI recalled the earthquake that has devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, and invited prayers for the victims and support for rescuers.

Before going to the audience, the Pope stopped to bless a statue of Saint Maron, placed in a niche outside of St Peter’s Basilica. Present were the Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, patriarch of the Maronite Lebanese President Michel Suleiman - who tomorrow will have an audience with the Pope - and a group of Lebanese ministers of all denominations.