Augustin de Backer (18 July 1809 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium – 1 December 1873 in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, Belgium) was a Belgian

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and renowned

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

Early years and Formation

De Backer left his country to be educated at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

schools of France (Beauregard,

Saint-Acheul Saint-Acheul is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is not to be confused with Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens after which the Acheulean archaeological culture of the Lower Paleolithic is named. Geograph ...

) and Switzerland

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...

. After schooling, and rather than going to the university, he undertook to visit libraries of France and Belgium in search of books printed by Plantin. In 1835, he was received into the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(in Rome) by the Superior General, Father John-Baptist Roothaan, who sent him back to

Nivelles Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstre ...

, in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, for his novitiate (29 June 1835). He taught three years in the school of

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

(1837-1840), and in 1840, began his studies for the priesthood in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

. Ordained priest on 10 September 1843.

Bibliographer

While at Louvain, he came across the ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Societatis Jesu'' published in 1676 by Nathaniel Bacon, and he resolved to revise and update the

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

of Bacon with the help of scientific methods unavailable at the time of Nathaniel Bacon. Based in

he visited Belgian and foreign libraries and, with the help of his natural brother Alois de Backer (also, coincidentally, a Jesuit), started publishing, from 1853 on, his

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

: ''La bibliothèque des écrivains de la Compagnie de Jésus''. For each Jesuit author a short biographical note was given, along with the list of all his writings in their successive editions. The first edition was 7 volumes (printed from 1853 to 1861).

Carlos Sommervogel Carlos Sommervogel (8 January 1834 – 4 March 1902) was a French Jesuit scholar. He was author of the monumental ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', which served as one of the major references for the editors of the Catholic Encyclope ...

(1834-1902)'s ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'' remains the standard reference book for research into Jesuit writings till the end of the 19th century.

Main work

* ''Bibliothèque des écrivains de la Compagnie de Jésus'', 7 vol., Liège, 1853–1861.

References

Bibliography

* Van Tricht, V.: ''La bibliothèque des écrivains de la Compagnie de Jésus et le Père Augustin de Backer'', Louvain, 1876. {{DEFAULTSORT:de Backer, Augustin 1809 births 1873 deaths 19th-century Belgian Jesuits Clergy from Antwerp Belgian bibliographers