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In July of 1723, Alphonsus Ligouri, a rising star on the legal scene at Naples, was arguing a case on behalf of Neapolitan nobleman, Filippo Orsini. Orsini was suing the Grand Duke of Tuscany (Cosimo III) over the rights to a rich estate of land. Even though Alphonsus had prepared meticulously and was sure that he would win the court case, he overlooked a technicality. To complicate matters Alphonsus was fighting against powerful political forces. The argument presented by Alphonsus was brusquely dismissed. Momentarily stunned and speechless, Alphonsus eventually exclaimed, “O world, I recognize you now! Goodbye to courtrooms” and stormed out of the chambers. Three months later, over the strenuous objections of his father, he received tonsure and began studies for the priesthood. As scholars have studied the life of Alphonsus, they have determined that he had been pondering a religious vocation for some time. But the courtroom incident gave the dramatic push that Alphonsus needed to begin a long and distinguished career of priestly service.

St. Francis de Sales was born in 1567 in a French border region. He was the son of the Lord of Boisy, an ancient and noble family of Savoy. His life straddled the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He received a very careful education studying theology in Paris and jurisprudence in Padua (as per his father’s wishes) and received degrees in both civil and canon law. His father wanted him to be a soldier or a lawyer. Francis, however, had his heart set on being a priest. In time he was to get his father’s assent to be ordained a priest, which occurred on December 18, 1593. Soon after his ordination to the priesthood, he volunteered for the dangerous mission of serving in the region around Lake Geneva, a bastion of Calvinism. For years he walked from town to town on foot, enduring poverty and harsh winters, and many times barely escaping attempts on his life. In his missionary outreach Francis chose an approach that was unusual for the times. Rather than simply denouncing Calvinism Francis proclaimed the positive message of the Gospel. This helped to overcome many of the negative stereotypes people in that region held about Catholicism. Hundreds of families were reconciled with the Catholic faith as a result of his mission.

St. Lawrence of Brindisi is perhaps the only Doctor of the Church to have led an army to battle. The army of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II under the command of archduke Matthias confronted a much larger Turkish force in the city of Szekesfehervar located in central Hungary on October 9, 1601. The Capuchin friar Lawrence of Brindisi was serving as a chaplain for archduke Matthias and his army. Friar Lawrence had been sent by Pope Clement VIII to spread the Capuchin reform of the Franciscan order and to encourage the faithful in Austria and Bohemia to hold true to their Catholic faith. Before the battle began, Friar Lawrence addressed the troops. He encouraged them to fight boldly and promised them victory as he shouted: “Forward! Victory is ours.” Then riding his horse and waving his crucifix he led them against the Turks. Even though he was exposed to every danger he was unharmed by it all. The Christian army triumphed, and Friar Lawrence was hailed as a hero. His crucifix was later treated as a relic.

On March 3, 1599, Pope Clement VIII advanced Robert Bellarmine, a Jesuit priest and theologian, to the College of Cardinals. Jesuits usually shun opportunities for advancement in the Church. Robert even tried to protest during the ceremonies. But Pope Clement VIII ordered him to be silent and to accept his new responsibilities. In honoring Robert Bellarmine in this manner, Pope Clement VIII stated that “We elect this man because the Church of God has not his equal in learning.” Pope Clement was not only exercising good judgement with his decision, but he was also offering criticism of his predecessor, Pope Sixtus V (1585-90). The death of Pope Sixtus V prevented him from putting Robert Bellarmine’s greatest work, the Disputations about the Controversies of the Christian Faith against the Heretics of the Age on the “Index of Forbidden Books.” In this work Robert had argued that the papacy had only indirect power in temporal affairs. This was a position that made Pope Sixtus V quite angry.