Gregory of Valencia ( es, Gregorio de Valencia) (c. 1550 – 25 April 1603) was a Spanish humanist and scholar who was a professor at the

University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law, and medicine, all o ...

Life

Gregory of Valencia was born in

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...

around 1549–50. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...

, where he undertook the Jesuit novitiate in 1565. In 1567, he went on to study theology at Salamanca, where through his instructor, Mancio, he became interested in the theological renewal movement initiated by Francisco de Vitoria. He studied theology at Valladolid (1568–1571). In 1571, he was called by St. Francis Borgia, superior general of the Jesuit order, to teach philosophy in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. There he was ordained a priest. He continued his studies at Salamanca (1572). Gregory of Valencia was appointed professor at the University of Dillinguen (1573–1574), and at Ingolstadt (1575–1597), where he taught scholastic theology. He was a member of the

Jesuit College of Ingolstadt The Jesuit College of Ingolstadt (german: Jesuitenkolleg Ingolstadt) was a Jesuit school in Ingolstadt, in the Duchy and Electorate of Bavaria, founded in 1556, that operated until the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773. The college was th ...

while teaching at the

. He then became professor and director of the Jesuit College in Rome (1598) at the request of

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

. In 1600, he defended the doctrine of the Spanish theologian

Luis de Molina Luis de Molina (29 September 1535 – 12 October 1600) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and scholastic, a staunch defender of free will in the controversy over human liberty and God's grace. His theology is known as Molinism. Life From 1551 t ...

on grace and predestination before the Roman

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

. He wrote a work in four volumes, covering the whole field of scholastic theology. He held the position of prefect of studies in the

Collegio Romano The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...

until, broken in health through incessant work, he died at

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on 25 March 1603.

honored him with the title of ''Doctor doctorum''.

Work

Gregory's work is characterized by a renewed

Scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...

in which natural reason is employed to delve deeper into preexisting theological sources. 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, ...

, the ''Theological Commentaries'', employs the method of

Francisco de Vitoria Francisco de Vitoria ( – 12 August 1546; also known as Francisco de Victoria) was a Spanish Roman Catholic philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and jurist of Renaissance Spain. He is the founder of the tradition in philosophy known ...

to comment on the ''Summa'' of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

. Apart from various works of controversy and several apologies and speeches, his main doctrinal treatises are: * Analysis fidei Catholicae (1585). * Libri quinque de Trinitate (1586). * De reali Christi praesentia in eucharistia... libri tres (1587). * De rebus fidei hoc tempore controversis libri (1591). *Commentariorum theologicorum tomi quatuor. In quibus omnes materiae quae continetur in Summa Divi Thomae explicantur (1591–1597).

References

Citations Sources *The contents of this article incorporates materials from the Spanish-language ''Gran Enciclopedia Rialp'', which was authorized for publication through a GFDL license. The permit was revoked in April 2008, so do not add more content from that source.
Gregory of Valencia
at the

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

External links

Gregorio de Valencia in the Historical Archives of the Pontifical Gregorian University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valencia, Gregory of 1549 births 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic theologians Scholastic philosophers 1603 deaths 16th-century Spanish Jesuits Academic staff of the University of Ingolstadt University of Salamanca alumni Year of birth unknown People from Dillingen an der Donau