View source for Peter Faber

{{Short description|Jesuit priest and evangelist (1506–1546)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix=[[Canonization|Saint]]
|name= Peter Faber
|honorific_suffix=[[Jesuits|SJ]]
|image= Pierre Favre(1).jpg
|caption= Co-founder of the Society of Jesus
|titles=Priest, Confessor, Founder
|birth_date= {{birth date|1506|4|13|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [[Saint-Jean-de-Sixt|Villaret]], [[Duchy of Savoy]]<br> [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|death_date= {{death date and age|1546|8|1|1506|4|13|df=yes}}
|death_place= [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
|feast_day= 2 August
|venerated_in= [[Catholic Church]]<br>([[Society of Jesus]])
|beatified_date= 5 September 1872
|beatified_place=Rome, [[Kingdom of Italy]],
|beatified_by=[[Pope Pius IX]]
|canonized_date= 17 December 2013 (equivalent canonization)
|canonized_place=[[Vatican City]]
|canonized_by=[[Pope Francis]]
}}
'''Peter Faber''', SJ ({{langx|fr|Pierre Lefevre or Favre}}, {{langx|la|Petrus Faber}}) (13 April 1506 – 1 August 1546)<ref name="tylenda">{{cite web|url=http://www.loyolapress.com/blessed-peter-favre.htm |title=Jesuit Saints and Martyrs, 2nd ed. |year=1998 |publisher=LoyolaPress.com |access-date=19 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601000833/http://www.loyolapress.com/blessed-peter-favre.htm |archive-date=2016-06-01 |url-status=dead}}</ref> was a Savoyard [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] priest, [[theology|theologian]] and co-founder of the [[Society of Jesus]], along with [[Ignatius of Loyola]] and [[Francis Xavier]]. [[Pope Francis]] announced his [[canonization]] in 2013.

==Life==
===Early life===
Faber was born in 1506 to a peasant family in the village of Villaret, in the [[Duchy of Savoy]] (now [[Saint-Jean-de-Sixt]] in the [[France|French]] Department of [[Haute-Savoie]]). As a boy, he was a shepherd in the high pastures of the [[French Alps]].<ref name=ignatian>{{cite web |url= http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/blessed-peter-faber-sj/ |title="Saint Peter Faber, SJ (1506–1546)", Ignatian Spirituality |publisher= Ignatian Spirituality |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> He had little education, but a remarkable memory; he could hear a sermon in the morning and then repeat it verbatim in the afternoon for his friends.<ref name="tylenda" /> Two of his uncles were [[Carthusian]] priors.<ref name=leitner>{{cite web|url=http://www.sjweb.info/documents/cis/pdfenglish/200510910en.pdf |title=The Spirituality of Peter Faber |year= 2005 |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> At first, he was entrusted to the care of a priest at [[Thônes]] and later to a school in the neighboring village of [[:fr:La Roche-sur-Foron|La Roche-sur-Foron]].

In 1525, Faber went to [[Paris]] to pursue his studies. He was admitted to the [[Collège Sainte-Barbe]], the oldest school in the [[University of Paris]], where he shared his lodgings with [[Francis Xavier]].<ref name=tylenda/> There Faber's spiritual views began to develop, influenced by a combination of popular devotion, Christian humanism, and late medieval scholasticism.<ref name=leitner/> Faber and Xavier became close friends and both received the degree of [[Master of Arts]] on the same day in 1530. At the university, Faber also met [[Ignatius of Loyola]] and became one of his associates. He tutored Loyola in the philosophy of [[Aristotle]], while Loyola tutored Faber in spiritual matters.<ref name=ignatian/> Faber wrote of Loyola's counsel: "He gave me an understanding of my conscience and of the temptations and scruples I have had for so long without either understanding them or seeing the way by which I would be able to get peace."<ref name=padberg>{{cite journal|last=Padberg|first=John W.|title=A Saint Too Little Known|journal=America|date=17 July 2006 |url=http://americamagazine.org/issue/578/article/saint-too-little-known}}</ref> Xavier, Faber, and Loyola all became roommates at the University of Paris and are all recognized by the Jesuits as founders of the Society of Jesus.

===Jesuit preacher===
[[File:Pierre_Favre_(1506-1546).jpg|thumb|upright|Saint Peter Faber, S.J.]]
Faber was the first among the small circle of men who formed the [[Society of Jesus]] to be [[Holy Orders|ordained]]. Having become a priest on 30 May 1534, he received the [[religious vows]] of Ignatius and his five companions at [[Montmartre]] on 15 August.<ref>[http://michaelservetusresearch.com/ENGLISH/jesuits.html Michael Servetus Research] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011060544/http://www.michaelservetusresearch.com/ENGLISH/jesuits.html |date=11 October 2014 }} Website that includes graphical documents in the University of Paris of: Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Alfonso Salmerón, Nicholas Bobadilla, Peter Faber and Simao Rodrigues, as well as Michael de Villanueva ("Servetus")</ref>

Upon graduation, Ignatius returned to Spain for a period of convalescence, after instructing his companions to meet in [[Venice]] and charging Faber with conducting them there.<ref name=tylenda/> After Loyola himself, Faber was the one whom Xavier and his companions esteemed the most.<ref name=suau>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11767a.htm |last=Suau |first=Pierre |title=Bl. Peter Faber | encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11 | location=New York: Robert Appleton Company|publisher=Newadvent.org |year=1911 |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> Leaving Paris on 15 November 1536, Faber and his companions rejoined Loyola at Venice in January 1537. When war between Venice and the Turks prevented them from evangelizing the [[Holy Land]] as they planned,<ref name=padberg/> they decided to form the community that became the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order. The group then traveled to [[Rome]] where they put themselves at the disposal of [[Pope Paul III]]. After Faber spent some months preaching and teaching, the Pope sent him to [[Parma]] and [[Piacenza]], where he brought about a revival of Christian piety.<ref name=suau/>

Recalled to Rome in 1540, Faber was sent to Germany to uphold the position of the Catholic Church at the [[Diet of Worms]] and then at the [[Diet of Ratisbon (1541)|Diet of Ratisbon]] in 1541.<ref name=padberg/> Another Catholic theologian, [[Johann Cochlaeus]], reported that Faber avoided theological debate and emphasized personal reformation, calling him "a master of the life of the affections".<ref name=padberg/> Faber was startled by the unrest that the Protestant movement had stirred up in Germany and by the decadence he found in the Catholic hierarchy. He decided that the remedy did not lie in discussions with the Protestants but in the reform of the Roman Catholic, especially of the clergy. For ten months, at [[Speyer]], at [[Ratisbon]], and at [[Mainz]], he conducted himself with gentleness with all those with whom he dealt. He influenced princes, prelates, and priests who opened themselves to him and amazed people by the effectiveness of his outreach.<ref name=dublin>{{cite web|url=http://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/F0802S/ |title=Blessed Peter Faber |publisher= sacredspace.ie |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> Faber possessed the gift of friendship to a remarkable degree. He was famous not for his preaching, but for his engaging conversations and his guidance of souls. He crisscrossed Europe on foot, guiding bishops, priests, nobles, and common people alike in the [[Spiritual Exercises]].<ref name=ucan>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucanews.com/news/blessed-peter-faber-2/57229 |title=Blessed Peter Faber |publisher=Ucanews.com |date=2 August 2012 |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

As a lone Jesuit often on the move, Faber never felt alone because he walked in a world whose denizens included saints and [[angel]]s. He would ask the saint of the day and all the saints "to obtain for us not only virtues and salvation for our spirits but in particular whatever can strengthen, heal, and preserve the body and each of its parts". His [[guardian angel]], above all, became his chief ally. He sought support from the saints and angels both for his personal sanctification and in his evangelization of communities. Whenever he entered a new town or region, Faber implored the aid of the particular angels and saints associated with that place. Through the intercession of his allies, Faber could enter even a potentially hostile region assured of a spiritual army at his side. As he desired to bring each person he met to a closer relationship through spiritual friendship and conversation, he would invoke the intercession of the person's guardian angel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newjesuitreview.org/newjesuitreview/Vol._2,_No._7,_A._2_files/NJR07GavinB.pdf |last=Gavin |first=John |title=Invisible Allies: Peter Faber's Apostolic Devotion to the Saints |work=New Jesuit Review, Vol.2, No.7 |access-date=19 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060522/http://www.newjesuitreview.org/newjesuitreview/Vol._2,_No._7,_A._2_files/NJR07GavinB.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Called to Spain by Loyola, he visited Barcelona, Zaragoza, Medinaceli, Madrid, and Toledo.<ref name=padberg/> In January 1542 the pope ordered him to Germany again. For the next nineteen months, Faber worked for the reform of Speyer, Mainz, and [[Cologne]]. The [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne|Archbishop of Cologne]], [[Hermann of Wied]], favored Lutheranism, which he later publicly embraced. Faber gradually gained the confidence of the clergy and recruited many young men to the Jesuits, among them [[Peter Canisius]]. After spending some months at [[Leuven]] in 1543, where he implanted the seeds of numerous vocations among the young, he returned to Cologne. Between 1544 and 1546, Faber continued his work in Portugal and Spain.<ref name=ignatian/> Through his influence while at the [[royal court]] of Lisbon, Faber was instrumental in establishing the Society of Jesus in Portugal. There and in Spain, he was a fervent and effective preacher. He was called to preach in the principal cities of Spain, where he aroused fervor among the local populations and fostered vocations to the clergy. Among them there was [[Francis Borgia]], another significant future Jesuit. King [[John III of Portugal]] wanted Faber made [[Latin Patriarchate of Ethiopia|Patriarch of Ethiopia]].<ref name=dublin/> [[Simão Rodrigues]], co-founder of the Jesuit order, wrote that Faber was "endowed with charming grace in dealing with people, which up to now I must confess I have not seen in anyone else. Somehow he entered into friendship in such a way, bit by bit coming to influence others in such a manner, that his very way of living and gracious conversation powerfully drew to the love of God all those with whom he dealt."<ref name=padberg/> He then worked in several Spanish cities, including Valladolid, Salamanca, Toledo, Galapagar, Alcalá, and Madrid.<ref name=padberg/>

===Death===
{{Jesuit}}
In 1546, Faber was appointed by [[Pope Paul III]] to act as a ''[[peritus]]'' (expert) on behalf of the [[Holy See]] at the [[Council of Trent]]. Faber, at age 40, was exhausted by his incessant efforts and his unceasing journeys, always made on foot. In April 1546, he left Spain to attend the Council and reached Rome, weakened by fever, on 17 July 1546. He died, reportedly in the arms of Loyola, on 1 August 1546.<ref name="tylenda"/><ref>[http://manus.iccu.sbn.it/opac_SchedaAutore.php?ID=54401 Favre, Pierre] Manus online</ref> Faber's body was initially buried at the Church of Our Lady of the Way, which served as a center for the Jesuit community. When that church was demolished to allow for the construction of the [[Church of the Gesù]], his remains and those of others among the first Jesuits were exhumed.<ref name=tylenda /> His remains are now in the crypt near the entrance to the Gesù.<ref name=padberg/>

==Writings==
Faber kept a diary of his spiritual life known as his ''Memoriale''. Most of it dates from June 1542 to July 1543, with some additional entries from 1545 and a final brief entry made in January 1546. It begins with a quotation from ''Psalms'': "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." It takes the form of a series of conversations, mostly between God and Faber with occasional contributions on the part of various saints and Faber's colleagues.<ref name=padberg/>

Peter Faber authored "The Blessed Sacrament" which proffers a strong argument for the existence and nature of God.

==Veneration==
Those who had known Faber in life already invoked him as a saint. [[Francis de Sales]], whose character recalled that of Faber's, never spoke of him except as a saint. He is remembered for his travels through Europe promoting Catholic renewal and his great skill in directing the Spiritual Exercises. Faber was beatified on 5 September 1872.<ref name=dublin/> His [[feast day]] is celebrated on 2 August by the Society of Jesus. Faber was honored as part of the 2006 Jesuit [[Jubilee (Christianity)|Jubilee]] Year which celebrated the 500th anniversary of the birth of [[Francis Xavier]], the 500th anniversary of the birth of Peter Faber, and the 450th anniversary of the death of [[Ignatius Loyola]].

[[Pope Francis]], on his own 77th birthday, 17 December 2013, announced Faber's canonization.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Allen Jr.|first1=John L.|title=It's official: Jesuit Fr. Peter Faber is a saint|url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/its-official-jesuit-faber-saint|access-date=4 October 2014|work=National Catholic Reporter|date=17 December 2013|archive-date=16 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316050907/http://ncronline.org/blogs/its-official-jesuit-faber-saint|url-status=dead}}</ref> He used a process known as [[Equivalent canonization|equipollent canonization]], which dispenses with the standard judicial procedures and ceremonies in the case of someone long venerated. Faber is regarded as one of Pope Francis' favorite saints. A few weeks earlier, Francis had praised Faber's "dialogue with all, even the most remote and even with his opponents; his simple piety, a certain naïveté perhaps, his being available straightaway, his careful interior discernment, the fact that he was a man capable of great and strong decisions but also capable of being so gentle and loving".<ref>{{cite news|last=Tornielli|first=Andrea|title=French Jesuit priest Peter Faber to be made a saint in December|url=http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/favre-gesuita-santo-30065/|access-date=17 December 2013|newspaper=Vatican Insider|date=24 November 2013}}</ref> Francis gave further thanks for Faber's canonization when he celebrated Mass in Rome on 3 January 2014, at the [[Church of the Gesù]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Francis remembers St. Peter Favre|url=http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/agenda/detail/articolo/30981/|access-date=3 January 2014|newspaper=Vatican Insider|date=2 January 2014}}</ref> and made reference to him in a list of Jesuit priests associated with devotion to the [[Sacred Heart]] in his 2024 [[encyclical letter]] on this subject, ''[[Dilexit nos]]''.<ref>Pope Francis, [https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.pdf Dilexit nos], paragraph 146, published on 24 October 2024, accessed on 14 February 2025</ref>

==Legacy==
The Saint Peter Faber Jesuit Community at [[Boston College]] is a residence for Jesuits in formation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.faberjc.org/ |title=Faber Jesuit Community |publisher=Faberjc.org |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

[[Creighton University]] confers the Blessed Peter Faber Integrity Award on a student, faculty or staff member who is involved in activities that promote integrity, social justice, peace, and religious, racial, and cultural harmony and is able to inspire and lead others to distill their values and integrity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/StudentServices/CenterforStudentIntegrity/docs/Integrity_Award_2013_Nomination_Form.pdf |title="Blessed Peter Faber Integrity Award", Creighton University |access-date=19 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060534/http://www.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/StudentServices/CenterforStudentIntegrity/docs/Integrity_Award_2013_Nomination_Form.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Saint Peter Faber House at [[Gonzaga University]] is an extension of the University Ministry office reserved for preparing retreats and further developing University Ministry programs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gonzaga.edu/About/Mission/University-Ministry/resources/blessedpeterfaberhouse.asp |title=Faber House, Gonzaga |publisher=Gonzaga.edu |access-date= 19 September 2013}}</ref>

The Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality was adopted as a ministry of [[Marquette University]] in November 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marquette.edu/faber/questions.shtml |title=Faber Center, Marquette University |publisher=Marquette.edu |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

The Peter Faber Chapel serves as the central space for the [[University of Scranton]]'s Retreat Center at Chapman Lake, about 30 minutes north of Scranton, PA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scranton.edu/about/jesuit-tradition/campus-facilities.shtml |title=Honoring The Bishops Of Scranton, Church And The Jesuits: The Campus |publisher=Scranton.edu |access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref>

The St. Peter Faber conference room in Loyola Hall at Manresa House of Retreats, Convent, Louisiana, is the location where men on retreat are directed through the [[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola]]<ref>[[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola]]</ref>

The School of Business at [[Australian Catholic University]] is known as the Peter Faber School of Business.

Faber Hall at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, is a residence hall and administrative building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/info/21235/upper_classmen_student_housing/8994/faber_hall|title=Faber Hall|first=Chen|last=Michele|website=www.fordham.edu}}</ref>

It was announced in ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' on 26 October 2016 that [[Loyola Press]] has contracted [[Jon M. Sweeney]], the author of ''The Pope Who Quit'' and other historical books, to write a new narrative life of Saint Peter Faber.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/71856-religion-book-deals-october-2016.html|title=Religion Book Deals: October 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*William V. Bangert, ''To the Other Towns: A Life of Blessed Peter Favre, First Companion of St. Ignatius Loyola'' (Ignatius Press, 2002)

==External links==
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033512/Peter-Faber ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Peter Faber]
*[http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview Pope Francis on Peter Faber, August 2013]
*[https://archive.org/stream/lifeofblessedpet08boer/lifeofblessedpet08boer_djvu.txt Giuseppe Boero, ''The Life of the Blesed Peter Favre of the Society of Jesus, First Companion of St. Ignatius Loyola'' (London: Burns and Gates, 1873)]

{{Jesuits}}
{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= France}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faber, Peter}}
[[Category:1506 births]]
[[Category:1546 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Haute-Savoie]]
[[Category:Collège Sainte-Barbe alumni]]
[[Category:16th-century French Jesuits]]
[[Category:Founders of Catholic religious communities]]
[[Category:French Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:Jesuit saints]]
[[Category:16th-century venerated Christians]]
[[Category:Canonizations by Pope Francis]]
[[Category:Angelic visionaries]]