We present documents in which 5 out of the 6 first Jesuits, including the founder of the Order of Jesus, appear.
In October and November of 2011, while we were reviewing the Latin manuscript of Michael Villanueva's registration, one among the diverse manuscripts of the Acta Rectoria Universitatis Parisiensis, we confirmed the presence of other notable figures, most of them Spanish, such as:
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Fig. 1 Ignatius of Loyola, from the diocese of Pamplona (Dominus Ignatius de Loyola dioec. Pampilonensis) in the year 1534. He is listed among those beginning (incipientium) new studies in that year. Ignatius was beginning the study of Theology, which the University of Paris scribe recorded in humanistic italics
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Fig.2 In the second column of the year 1536, the “master,” Francis of Xavier (magistro Francisco Xabiere), the future Saint Francis Xavier, saint of Navarre appears. We also read: Dominus Nicolaus alphonses de bobadylla Palletine dioec. incepturus sub mag[ist]tro francisco xabiere (Mr Nicholas Alphonsus of Bobadilla, from the diocese of Palencia, who will start with the master Francis of Xavier). We note that later, Bobadilla will fall ill and he will not take part in Francis of Xavier's mission to India.
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Fig.3 More detailed image of this same folio, where appear: -The future Saint Francis of Xavier; in two instances referred to as “master,” noted by blue arrows. The scribe of Paris has copied this in two different ways: magistro Francisco Xabiere, and magistro Francisco de Chamer. The reason for this is that the French scribe was interpreting the names and places as he heard them, possibly disfiguring them, which happened here. This also happens with Xavier's diocese. - In this second column, the future jesuit Peter Faber (Faber{red arrow}) appears. Faber is from Savoy, the “diocese of Geneva,” and he “will start with the master Juan de la Peña.” -Juan de la Peña (black arrow), Spanish teacher in Paris, previously taught Ignatius of Loyola and Francis of Xabier. -Nicholas Alphonsus of Bobadilla (red arrow), appears as a student of Francis of Xavier (as we have already explained). - We can also see the Portuguese Simão Rodrigues (red arrow, Simon Rodoricus), who will study with another master. Simão Rodrigues was with Francis of Xavier in Rome and Lisbon
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-Hence in this section of a folio (Fig. 3) we see the future jesuits noted with red arrows (Alfonso Salmerón, Nicholas Alphonsus – or Alonsus- of Bobadilla, the Portuguese Simão Rodrigues and Peter Faber from Savoy), and also the fifth one, the Navarre Jesuit Francis of Xavier, who will later be known as Saint Francis of Xavier. This latter is called “master” or regent, which meant he could teach other students. Only Diego Laínez, the sixth of first six Spanish Jesuits is missing from this manuscript.
- And in the Figure 1 we saw founder, Ignatius of Loyola, future Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
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Fig.4 In this same manuscript, Michael de Villanueva, from the diocese of Zaragoza (Michael Villanueva, Caesaraugustanensis dioe), also appears, but registered by another Paris scribe, with humanistic writing and more intense italics than the previous scribe used. This was all done under the rectory of Jean Chollet, on March 24th of 1537.
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Michael de Villanueva was a student in Paris from 1533 to 1534. Later, in 1536 his presence in Paris is recorded again, in the prologue of his Defense against Leonhart Fuchs (Apologia). In that work, Michael mentions a teacher and a student from the Beauvais School of Paris, where Saint Francis of Xavier had taught philosophy.
In short, this Paris manuscript shows:
- The founder of the Jesuits (Order of Jesus), Ignatius of Loyola. From Guipuzcoa.
- Francis of Xavier, as “master” in two occasions, (Jesuit). From Navarre.
- Alfonso Salmerón (Jesuit). From Toledo.
- Nicholas Alfonso of Bobadilla (Jesuit). From Palencia
- Peter Faber (Jesuit). From Savoy.
- Simão Rodrigues (Jesuit). From Portugal
- Juan de la Peña, teacher from Valencia, also appears. He was not a Jesuit, but he taught three of them: Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Xavier and Peter Faber.
- Michael de Villanueva (better known as Servetus). Our search for him in the Paris registers was the initial reason for this investigation.