Raymond of Peñafort

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St. Raymond of Peñafort

Raymond of Peñafort (Raymond de Penyafort) was born in Vilafranca del Penedès, a small town near Barcelona, Spain, in 1180. He was educated in Barcelona and also at the University of Bologna in Italy, where he received doctorates in civil law and canon law. From 1195 to 1210, he taught canon law. In 1210, he moved to Bologna, where he remained until 1222, including three years occupying the chair of canon law at the university. He was chaplain to Pope Alexander IV, and confessor of James I of Aragon.

He was instrumental in the founding of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. When approached by Peter Nolasco, Raymond encouraged and assisted him in obtaining the consent of James I for the foundation of the Order. Returning to Barcelona in 1222, he entered the Dominican Order.

Gregory IX summoned Raymond to Rome in 1230, to help in the re-arranging and codifying of Canon law. Canon laws, which were previously found scattered in many publications, were organized into one set of documents. His collection of canon law became a standard for almost 700 years. Canon law was finally fully codified by 1917.

Returning to Spain, he became General of the Dominican order in 1238, but resigned in 1240. He then lived in Barcelona.

His principal aim becameto convert Jews and Muslims to Christianity, and for the furtherance of this aim he caused both Arabic and Hebrew to be taught in the higher schools conducted by Dominicans. He exercised great influence over King James, and succeeded in persuading him to order a public debate, concerning Judaism and Christianity, between Moshe ben Nahman, called also El Rab de España or Bonastruc de Porta, a rabbi in Gerona, and Fra Pablo, or Pablo Christiani, a baptized Jew of Montpellier who belonged to the Dominican order. In this debate, which took place in the royal palace at Barcelona (July 20-24, 1263), in the presence of the king and of many of the higher clergy, Raymond took an important part. He was at the head of the theologians present, and in agreement with the king gave the rabbi perfect freedom of speech. When Raymund observed to Moses ben Nachman that he must not allow himself to blaspheme Christianity, Moses answered that he knew what the laws of propriety demanded. On the Sabbath following the close of the debate the king, together with many preaching friars and other clergy, visited the synagogue, where Raymond delivered an address on the Trinity, which Moses ben Nachman refuted.

Raymond obtained from the king not only permission for his protégé Pablo Christiani to continue his missionary journeys, but also the command that the Jews in all parts of his land, including children, old men, and women, should be compelled to listen to the sermons of Pablo and of all other Dominicans, and, within three months, to strike out from their books all that was contained in them against the Christian religion. The censory commission appointed therefor consisted of Arnoldo de Guerbo (Bishop of Barcelona), Raymond himself, and the Dominicans Arnoldo de Legarra, Raymund Martin (author of Pugio Fidei), and Pedro de Janua (Genoa).

Raymond died in 1275 and was canonised by Clement VIII in 1601 as St. Raymond of Peñafort. He is buried in the cathedral of Barcelona. He is the patron saint of canon lawyers.

[edit] References

Nachmanidis Disputatio, ed. Steinschneider, Berlin. 1860
Cecil Roth, The Disputation of Barcelona (1263), Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Apr., 1950), pp. 117-144
Francisco Diago, Anales del Reyno de Valencia (1613), p. 373;
José Amador de los Ríos, Historia social, política y religiosa de los judíos en España y Portugal, i. 433 et seq.;
Heinrich Graetz, Geschichte vii. 142 et seq.;
R. E. J. xv. 6 et seq.