Pope Francis canonizes Fr. Peter Faber, SJ

Vatican City, 18 December 2013: Pope Francis on Tuesday canonized one of the first companions of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Father Peter Faber, extending his devotion to the universal Church. At an audience with the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Pope “extended the liturgical cult of Blessed Peter Faber to the Universal Church inscribing him in the catalogue of the saints.”
This is a so-called ‘equipollent’ (equal in force) canonization in which the Pope, by his authority, extends the worship and liturgical celebration of a saint to the universal Church, after having fulfilled certain conditions established by Pope Benedict XIV (1675-1758). This practice was used by Pope Francis himself on October 9 for the canonization of Blessed Angela from Foligno and by his predecessors Benedict XVI, John Paul II, John XXIII, among others.
Peter Faber was born into a poor family, near Savoy, France, in April 1506. An ardent student, he eventually studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he shared a room with Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. He was ordained to the priesthood in July 1534 and, one month later, celebrated the mass on 15 August, during which Ignatius’ first seven companions took vows.

He taught Scripture at the Sapienza University in Rome, where he often argued against Lutheran doctrine. In 1541, he participated at a colloquy, which took place in Worms, Germany, and later at the Colloquy of Ratisbon (Regensburg), both attempts to restore Christian unity after the Protestant reformation by theological discussion. He also travelled for several years through Europe, preaching in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Portugal, before being called to Madrid to participate as a theologian at the Council of Trent. However, on his way, he got gravely ill and died in Rome, on 1 August 1546, at the age of 40.
Pope Pius IX beatified him in 1872.

The canonization of Blessed Peter Faber holds a special meaning because he is a model of spirituality and priestly life of today's Pope and at the same time an important reference to understand his style of government. Faber lived on the crest of an era when the unity of the Church was undermined and he remained essentially alien to doctrinal dispute, directing his apostolate to the reform of the Church and becoming a pioneer of ecumenism. How much his example is rooted in the pastoral horizon of Pope Francis is felt in the synthetic portrait he made in the interview he gave to La Civiltà Cattolica, revealing some essential aspects of his personality: "His dialogue with everybody, even the most remote and even with his opponents; his simple piety, a certain naiveté perhaps, his immediate availability, his careful interior discernment, the fact that he was a man capable of great and strong decisions but also of being so gentle and loving, loving."

The aspect of Faber is that of a contemplative in action, a man attracted to Christ, passionate about the cause of the brothers, experienced in discerning the spirits, devoted to the priestly ministry with patience and mildness, offering himself without expecting any human reward. Source: Sjweb.info