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 (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.
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.
Mediatrix Press A small catechism for catholics/ryan grant
