St. Raymond of Peñafort

Drawn from the authors' own words; every quotation links to its place.

Dominican · 1175–1275

In the Index: Raymond of Peñafort, St.; Raymond of Pennafort, St.

In Prümmer's Catalogue and Haringer's Index

“St. Raymond of Pennafort, O.P., Spanish, penitentiary of the Pope, master general of the Order of Preachers (1175-1275), is the celebrated compiler of the Decretals of Gregory IX and author of the Summa de poenitentia et matrimonio; this distinguished book was illustrated with commentaries by several, for example Guilelmus Rhedonensis and Ioannes de Friburgo.” — Prümmer, Catalogue of authors
“Raymundus de Pennafort, saint, born 1175, died 1275.” — Haringer's index of writers (Gury-Ballerini) (p. XXVII, sign read on the page)

Where Our Authors Discuss Him

Each read in its full passage; the words quoted are the author's own. Where several authors say the same thing, one is quoted and the others follow “in nearly the same words”; point at a name to see his words.

“the very well-known Summa on Penitential Cases, which St. Raymond of Pennafort, O.Pr., composed”His Summa of penitential cases, the first confessors' handbook, and the beginning of casuistry	Vermeersch, Theologia moralis I, n. 18In nearly the same words: Marc, Institutiones I, n. 6; Wouters, Manuale I, introduction, history; Tanquerey, Fundamental Moral Theology, n. 40; Slater, Short History, ¶ 76; Slater, Short History, ¶ 77; Koch-Preuss, Handbook I, history of moral theology
“already in St. Raymond, Summa, bk. 2, tit. 7, there occurs that definition of usury which embraces every interest”Vermeersch: his Summa already defines usury as every interest, though the canonists did not at once find the argument for its dishonesty	Vermeersch, Quaestiones de iustitia, n. 360
“Peter Lombard may be looked upon as the fountain-head of the first stream, and St. Raymund of Pennafort of the second”Slater: the two channels of scholastic moral theology, the speculative from Peter Lombard and the practical from St. Raymund	Slater, Short History, ¶ 74
“St. Raymund gives a more satisfactory rule and says shortly that a perplexity arising from a difference among Doctors is to be solved by reducing the contrary opinions to agreement”Slater: his rule, that a perplexity arising from a difference among Doctors is solved by reducing the opinions to agreement	Slater, Short History, ¶ 81

In the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)

“St. Raymond of Peñafort”, vol. 12, by Michael O'Kane. Public domain; transcription at New Advent (which expands some of the print's abbreviations).

Born at Villafranca de Benadis, near Barcelona, in 1175; died at Barcelona, 6 January, 1275. He became professor of canon law in 1195, and taught for fifteen years. He left Spain for Bologna in 1210 to complete his studies in canon law. He occupied a chair of canon law in the university for three years and published a treatise on ecclesiastical legislation which still exists in the Vatican Library.

Raymond was attracted to the Dominican Order by the preaching of Blessed Reginald, prior of the Dominicans of Bologna, and received the habit in the Dominican Convent of Barcelona, whither he had returned from Italy in 1222. At Barcelona he was co-founder with St. Peter Nolasco of the Order of Mercedarians. He also founded institutes at Barcelona and Tunis for the study of Oriental languages, to convert the Moors and Jews.

At the request of his superiors Raymond published the Summa Casuum, of which several editions appeared in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 1229 Raymond was appointed theologian and penitentiary to the Cardinal Archbishop of Sabina, John of Abbeville, and was summoned to Rome in 1230 by Gregory IX, who appointed him chaplain and grand penitentiary.

The reputation of the saint for juridical science decided the pope to employ Raymond of Peñafort's talents in re-arranging and codifying the canons of the Church. He had to rewrite and condense decrees that had been multiplying for centuries, and which were contained in some twelve or fourteen collections already existing. We learn from a Bull of Gregory IX to the Universities of Paris and Bologna that many of the decrees in the collections were but repetitions of ones issued before, many contradicted what had been determined in previous decrees, and many on account of their great length led to endless confusion, while others had never been embodied in any collection and were of uncertain authority.

The pope announced the new publication in a Bull directed to the doctors and students of Paris and Bologna in 1231, and commanded that the work of St. Raymond alone should be considered authoritative, and should alone be used in the schools. When Raymond completed his work the pope appointed him Archbishop of Tarragona, but the saint declined the honour. Having edited the Decretals he returned to Spain. He was not allowed to remain long in seclusion, as he was elected General of the Order in 1238; but he resigned two years later. During his tenure of office he published a revised edition of the Dominican Constitutions, and it was at his request that St. Thomas wrote the Summa Contra Gentiles. St. Raymond was canonized by Clement VIII in 1601. His Summa de Poenitentia et Matrimonio is said to be the first work of its kind. His feast is 23 January.

Sources: Monumenta Historica Ord. Proed., V, iv; Bullarium Ord. Proed.; PENIA, Vita S. Raymundi; MORTIER, Hist. des Maitres Generaux (Paris, 1903); FINKE, Acta Aragonensia, II (1908), 902-904; QUETIF-ECHARD, Script. Ord. Proed.; BALME, Raymundiana (1901).