Conrad Janninck ("Conrad Janningus" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) (1650-1723) was one of the

Bollandist The Bollandist Society ( la, Societas Bollandistarum french: Société des Bollandistes) are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century h ...

s who worked on the ''

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. The project w ...

''. Janninck edited twelve volumes covering May 5 through July 11. Janninck was born in 1650 in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. He had joined the Jesuits and was teaching Greek in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

when in March 1679, while still a scholastic, he was called to

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,

. In 1670 John Ravesteyn had been assigned to assist

Godfrey Henschen Godfrey Henschen (also ''Henskens'' or ''Godefridus Henschenius'' in Latin), 21 June 1601 – 11 September 1681, was a Jesuit hagiographer, one of the first Bollandists, from the Spanish Netherlands. Life Henschen was born at Venray, Limbur ...

and

Daniel van Papenbroeck Daniel Papebroch, S.J., (17 March 1628 – 28 June 1714) was a Flemish Jesuit hagiographer, one of the Bollandists. He was a leading revisionist figure, bringing historical criticism to bear on traditions of saints of the Catholic Church. Life ...

in the compiling the lives of the saints, but left after five years to take up parish work. Daniel Cardon took his place, but died in 1678 tending people stricken with the plague. Janninck succeeded Cardon.Delehaye, Hippolyte. ''The Work of the Bollandists Through Three Centuries, 1615-1915'', Princeton University Press, 1922 , p. 37
/ref> In 1681 Papenbroeck applied for Janninck to be sent to Rome to take up his theological studies, and Janninck was replaced by

François Baert François Baert (25 August 1651 – 27 October 1719) was a Jesuit hagiographer, one of the Bollandists, from the Spanish Netherlands. Born in Ypres on 25 August 1651, Baert entered the Society of Jesus at the novitiate of Mechlin, 28 September 1 ...

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

. Shortly after Baert's arrival Henschen died. Upon his return to Belgium, Janninck became one of the editors of the many volumes of the ''Acta Sanctorum''. Around 1695 his colleague Papenbroeck was under attack from the Spanish Inquisition and others opposed to the rigorous scholarly work of the Bollandists. Janninck spent almost three years in Rome on his behalf. His mission was successful in that the Holy See expressed no interest in confirming the Inquisition's condemnation. Janninck also spent time in Austria and Hungary as well as Italy searching for relevant texts to aid in their efforts at recording the traditions regarding the early saints. Janninck died in 1723.

References

1723 deaths Christian hagiographers Jesuit historiography 17th-century Dutch Roman Catholic priests 18th-century Dutch Roman Catholic priests {{RC-clergy-stub