Robert Bellarmine, SJ was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation.
17th-century portrait of Robert Bellarmine, Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus
16th-century portrait of Saint Robert Bellarmine
Page of the short catechism of Bellarmine: Dottrina cristiana breve, 1752
Doctor of the Church, also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church, is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribution to theology or doctrine through their research, study, or writing.
Isidore of Seville, a seventh-century Doctor of the Church, depicted by Murillo (c. 1628) with a book, which is a common iconographical attribute for a doctor
Hildegard von Bingen was an eleventh-century Doctor of the Church, depicted here by Marshall with a book, the common iconographical attribute for a doctor.
The Four Great Doctors of the Western Church were often depicted in art, here by Pier Francesco Sacchi, c. 1516. From the left: Saint Augustine, Pope Gregory I, Saint Jerome, and Saint Ambrose, with their attributes.
Image: Gregorythegreat
