David Wolfe (died 1578?) was an Irish

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

who became

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

in Ireland.

Life

He was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. After seven years in Rome, under the guidance of Ignatius Loyola and Francis Borgia, he entered the Society of Jesus about 1550, and became rector of the college at

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

. About August 1560 Wolfe returned to Ireland, with the powers of an apostolic legate. He was instructed to regulate public worship, and to keep up communication with the Catholic princes. He attracted the attention of the English officials and in 1561

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

stated to

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

, as one of her reasons for not sending representatives to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

, that Wolfe had been sent to excite disaffection. For several years he was unable to enter

The Pale The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...

, and on 7 December 1563 he delegated his jurisdiction for Dublin and its vicinity to Thady Newman. In 1564 the Pope, by a bull dated 31 May, entrusted to Wolfe and

Richard Creagh Richard Creagh (born at Limerick early in the sixteenth century; died in the Tower of London about December 1586) was an Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who was the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in the second half of the sixte ...

the erection of universities and schools in Ireland. In the early 1560s Wolfe sent a number of Irish Catholic clerics to Rome. About 1566 he was arrested and imprisoned in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

. In 1572 his release was paid for by a merchant, acting indirectly for Portuguese Jesuits. Wolfe went to Spain, but returned again to Ireland. On 14 April 1577

Sir William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshi ...

informed

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

that Wolfe was to be sent to the Indies. On 24 March 1578 Drury informed the privy council that James Fitzmaurice had put to sea with Wolfe, and had captured an English ship, whose crew had been handed over to the Inquisition. But the end of Wolfe's life is obscure. He was in dispute with the Portuguese Jesuits who had arranged for his release. He also had to leave the Society of Jesus. On 28 June 1578

Everard Mercurian Everard Mercurian (1514 – 1 August 1580) was the fourth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Early life Born 'Lardinois' into a humble family in Marcourt, near La Roche-en-Ardenne in what is now the province of Luxembourg in 1514, in ...

, the General of the Jesuits, wrote to

James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald James fitz Maurice FitzGerald (died 1579), called "fitz Maurice", was captain-general of Desmond while Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond, was detained in England by Queen Elizabeth after the Battle of Affane in 1565. He led the first Des ...

, whose chaplain Wolfe had been at one time, stating that he would be glad of employment for Wolfe. It is assumed that Wolfe died within a year, since records of him end.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, David Year of birth missing 1578 deaths 16th-century Irish Jesuits Diplomats of the Holy See Christian clergy from Limerick (city)