Small Catechisms" were undoubtedly those that spread most widely and had the greatest influence. Several Catholic catechisms came out shortly after, but they were, in point of language and arrangement, inferior to that of Luther. They were also either too lengthy or too difficult. The need of a new and better work, adapted to the circumstances of the times, was felt especially in Germany. Then it was, in 1554, that Canisius began to publish his three catechisms.[1] The first was the large catechism in Latin for the use of students in colleges. After this appeared a shorter one, and finally his small catechism. This last established his fame as a writer. There are about three hundred different editions extant which appeared before the death of the author in 1597. By that time the work had been translated into English, French, Greek, Italian, Bohemian, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, and many other languages. Before 1623 there existed Aethiopian, Indian, and Japanese translations. In Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, up to the nineteenth century the name "Canisi" was synonymous with catechism.[2]
The merits of this work can best be judged from the innumerable recommendations which it received from Popes and bishops, and not less from the violent
- ↑ See Kirchenlexikon, vol. VII, p. 302. – Braunsberger, S. J., Die Catechismen des Petrus Canisius. Herder, St. Louis, Mo., 1893. – Spirago's Method, pp. 532-534. – Janssen, Geschichte des deutschen Volkes, vol. IV (15th ed.), pp. 436 foll. – It is to be regretted that there exists no English biography of this great Catholic reformer and educator. A sketch of his labors was published recently in the Dublin Review, January 1903, pp. 137-158.
- ↑ Janssen, vol. IV, p. 445.
