Philippe Alegambe (22 January 1592,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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 ...

- 6 September 1652,

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 ...

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) was a Belgian

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

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

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 ...

Biography

After completing High School studies in

, Alegambe went to Spain, in the service of the Duke of Osuna. When the latter was sent as

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

(1611) Alegambe accompanied him as private secretary. There he entered the

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

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, on 7 September 1613. He further studied at the

Roman College 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 ...

in Rome. After ordination to the priesthood (1621) Alegambe was sent to teach

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and for three years traveled through Europe (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

), as preceptor of the Prince of Eggenberg's son. Back to Graz he taught

Moral Theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

to Jesuit students (1633–38). In 1638 he was again on the road: he accompanies the young prince to Rome, as part of an embassy sent by the Emperor to pope

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

. At the end of the mission Alegambe is retained in Rome by

Mutius Vitelleschi Mutio Vitelleschi (2 December 1563 – 9 February 1645) was the sixth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was the son of a noble Roman family. Although he was destined for a general ecclesiastical career, a growing desire to enter t ...

Superior General of the Society of Jesus The superior general of the Society of Jesus is the leader of the Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position sometimes carries the nickname of the Black Po ...

, to become his Latin secretary. Alegambe was also superior of the Roman

professed house In the Society of Jesus, a professed house was a residence where - in a spirit of radical poverty - no member had a stable income. The Jesuit priests who lived there, all of whom have made the profession of the four vows, undertake their spiritual ...

of the Jesuits.

Main work

He is chiefly remembered for his ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Societatis Jesu'', published in Antwerp (1642). It was a continuation and enlargement of Father

Pedro de Ribadeneira Pedro de Ribadeneira S.J. ( Toledo, 1 November 1527 – Madrid, 10 September or 22 September 1611) was a Spanish hagiographer, Jesuit priest, companion of Ignatius of Loyola, and a Spanish Golden Age ascetic writer. Life Pedro was born at T ...

's Catalogue, which had been brought up to 1608. This updating of the ''Bibliotheca'' was done with the help of

Jean Bolland Jean Bolland ( la, Johannes Bollandus) (13 August 1596 – 12 September 1665) was a Jesuit priest, theologian, and prominent Flemish hagiography, hagiographer. Bolland's main achievement is the compilation of the first five volumes of the ...

Other writings

*''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Societatis Iesu'', 1643. *''De vita et moribus P. Ioannis Cardim Luisitani, e Societatis Jesu'', Rome, 1645. *''Acta Sanctae Justae virg. et mart., ex variis MSS''. *''Heroes et victimae caritatis Societatis Jesu'', Rome, 1658.

Bibliography

* SOMMERVOGEL, C.: ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', vol.1, (pp. 151–153), Brussels-Paris, 1890–1932. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alegambe, Philippe 1592 births 1652 deaths Jesuits of the Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands historians Belgian bibliographers