St. Peter Canisius is perhaps the sole reason there is a Catholic Church in Germany, even today. Born in Holland, he was a law student and eventually a Canon of a Cathedral in Germany when he heard the preaching of St. Peter Faber, one of the first companions of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Immediately, Canisius knew his vocation and entered the Society of Jesus. Although he wasn't among the original companions of St. Ignatius, nevertheless, he was one of the first Jesuits, and the most famous.
Apart from laboring for the faith in Germanyand Switzerland, he was the first Jesuit toproduce any major theological works, and wrotethe first Catholic Catechism.
Surprisingly, in the 16 century the the Church had not yet produced a Catechism. She had not yet even produced her own edition of the Latin Bible. The Church was slow to pick up on the new technology of printing, and Protestants since the late 1520s, had already produced bibles, tracts and catechisms. Canisius, remarkably and single handedly, challenged and surpassed a generation of Protestant literary output in Germany, holding that just as truly as St. Francis Xavier converted so many in the East, it was a Catholic's duty to labor likewise for the faith in Europe. As we noted above, he produced the first Catholic Catechism. This was the Summa Doctrinae Christianae, (Summary of Christian Doctrine), which was a magnum opus in multiple volumes meant for clergy and laymen. He produced a second directed to young men, the Catechismus Minor (SmallerCatechism), which is an abridgment of the multivolume Summa Doctrinae Christianae. Later, he produced a third Catechism, the Parvus Catechismus Catholicorum (Small Catechism forCatholics) which makes up the present work. St.Peter Canisius produced this work for youngchildren between 9 and 14 years of age. Thisremains true of this translation, though certainlyadults could benefit from its clear presentationand faithfulness to Apostolic Tradition.
Therefore, the answers to the questions are more simple than in other Catechisms.This work has not been in English forseveral hundred years, and in that time therehave been other Catechisms, notably theBaltimore, which are familiar to Catholics. Intranslating from the Latin, I have taken greatcare to remain true to the exact formulation ofthe questions and answers, so as not to lose anyof the doctrinal content of the original. For common prayers such as the Our Father and the Hail Mary, I have preserved the standard formCatholics use when praying these prayers. Thereis an appendix of scripture references whichsupport Catholic doctrine at the end of the workwithout any commentary, which Canisiusarranged for youths to memorize in order todefend the faith when challenged. For thesereferences I have used the Douay-Rheimsversion, in spite of its shortcomings with respectto modern English readability, because it is theclosest version to the vulgate, the basis forCansisius' work and the common point ofreference for both Catholics and Protestants atthat time.
This work may prove easier to understand and can work in tandem with other Catechisms, and additionally, was produced by a saint and doctor of the Church. Canisius' reach was so powerful through the centuries in Germany, that Pope Benedict XVI said “Still in my father’s generation, people called the catechism simply the Canisius: He is really the catechist of the centuries; he formed people’s faith for centuries.”
 This new translation, contains some beautiful artwork from the Netherlands, in honor of Canisius' birth place, and a foreword by Fr. Chad Ripperger, PhD.

A Small Catechism for Catholics

Religion & Spirituality

Canisius, St. Peter

Christian Books & Bibles

Mediatrix Press

This book is a reformatted edition of the original work as it first appeared in the English language in the year 1622. St. Peter Canisius of the Company of Jesus originally composed his catechism in Latin as an easy handbook for people ""of a simpler sort."" It's use by the Jesuit fathers in Germany during the time of the Protestant Revolution was instrumental in saving half of that country from the slavery of disbelief. St. Peter Canisius' catechism, or ""Sum of Christian Doctrine"", has been translated into over 500 languages, but is only just recently to be found in carefully updated, modern English.

Catechism of St. Peter Canisius

lulu.com

St. Peter Canisius is perhaps the sole reason there is a Catholic Church in Germany, even today. Born in Holland, he was a law student and eventually a Canon of a Cathedral in Germany when he heard the preaching of St. Peter Faber, one of the first companions of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Immediately, Canisius knew his vocation and entered the Society of Jesus. Although he wasn't among the original companions of St. Ignatius, nevertheless, he was one of the first Jesuits, and the most famous. Apart from laboring for the faith in Germany and Switzerland, he was the first Jesuit to produce any major theological works, and wrote this great Catholic Catechism. Surprisingly, in the 16 century the the Church had not yet produced a Catechism to compete with the protestants. She had not yet even produced her own edition of the Latin Bible. The Church was slow to pick up on the new technology of printing, and Protestants since the late 1520s, had already produced bibles, tracts and catechisms. Canisius, remarkably and single handedly, challenged and surpassed a generation of Protestant literary output in Germany, holding that just as truly as St. Francis Xavier converted so many in the East, it was a Catholic's duty to labor likewise for the faith in Europe. As we noted above, he produced the first Catholic Catechism. This was the Summa Doctrinae Christianae, (Summary of Christian Doctrine), which was a magnum opus in multiple volumes meant for clergy and laymen. He produced a second directed to young men, the Catechismus Minor (Smaller Catechism), which is an abridgment of the multivolume Summa Doctrinae Christianae. Later, he produced a third Catechism, the Parvus Catechismus Catholicorum (Small Catechism for Catholics) which makes up the present work. St.Peter Canisius produced this work for young children between 9 and 14 years of age. This remains true of this translation, though certainly adults could benefit from its clear presentation and faithfulness to Apostolic Tradition. Therefore, the answers to the questions are more simple than in other Catechisms.This work has not been in English for several hundred years, and in that time there have been other Catechisms, notably the Baltimore, which are familiar to Catholics. In translating from the Latin, I have taken great care to remain true to the exact formulation of the questions and answers, so as not to lose any of the doctrinal content of the original. For common prayers such as the Our Father and the Hail Mary, I have preserved the standard form Catholics use when praying these prayers. There is an appendix of scripture references which support Catholic doctrine at the end of the work without any commentary, which Canisiu sarranged for youths to memorize in order to defend the faith when challenged. For these references I have used the Douay-Rheims version, in spite of its shortcomings with respect to modern English readability, because it is the closest version to the vulgate, the basis for Cansisius' work and the common point of reference for both Catholics and Protestants at that time. This work may prove easier to understand and can work in tandem with other Catechisms, and additionally, was produced by a saint and doctor of the Church. Canisius' reach was so powerful through the centuries in Germany, that Pope Benedict XVI said "Still in my father's generation, people called the catechism simply the Canisius: He is really the catechist of the centuries; he formed people's faith for centuries." This new translation, contains some beautiful artwork from the Netherlands, in honor of Canisius' birth place, and a foreword by Fr. Chad Ripperger, PhD.

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A Small Catechism for Catholics

Catechism of St. Peter Canisius

A Small Catechism for Catholics