OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Didacus Ximenes

From volume 15 of the work.
A Spanish Dominican of the sixteenth century; noted as a theologian, philosopher, and astronomer; d. 1560. He took his licentiate in law at Salamanca, and there, before Christmas, 1543, received the habit of the Friars Preachers from the hands of Dominic Soto, then prior of the Dominican convent at Salamanca. The vocation of Ximenes to the religious state seemed miraculous; for, while rector of the College of Cuenca at Salamanca, the king came to esteem him so highly that he was about to honour him with judicial dignity when, all unexpectedly, Ximenes was summoned to the Dominican convent by an unknown priest of the same order, who predicted that in a short time he would give up the practice of law for the religious life in the Order of Preachers. Although this prediction was received with laughter, it was soon verified. Ximenes obtained the degree of Bachelor (in the Dominican sense) in his province, and on 11 April, 1559, was chosen socius to Bartholomew Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo, and by him sent to Segobia with special letters to the vicar and definitors of the provincial chapter gathered there, to dissuade the members of the chapter from re-electing Melchior Cano as provincial. His efforts, however, were fruitless. Chief among Ximenes' works are: "Calendarium perpetuum, sive Ordo recitandi divini officii juxta ritum Ordinis Praedicatorum" (Salamanca, 1563; Antwerp, 1566); "De eruditione religiosorum", in Spanish.
QUÉTIF-ECHARD, Script. Ord. Praed., II (Paris, 1721), 169.
Chas. J. Callan.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Dibon

From volume 4 of the work.
A titular see in Palæstina Tertia. Dibôn (Sept., Daibon or Debon) is mentioned in Numbers 33:45 as a station of the Hebrews on their way to the Promised Land. It was soon after occupied and rebuilt by the tribe of Gad (Numbers 32:34). It belonged later to the Rubenites (Joshua 13:17). At the time of the Prophets it was in the power of the Moabites. The ruins of the town stand at Dîbân, one and a half miles west of 'Arâ'ir (Aroer), ten miles south-east of M'kaôur (Machoerous), in the vilayet of Damascus. The masses of black basalt present a mournful aspect, strangely contrasting with that of the fertile table-land of Moab and vicinity of the Arnon (Wadi Modjib). There are an acropolis, cisterns, sepulchral grottoes, and a few Roman and Christian fragments. It was here also that Clermont Ganneau found the famous stele of Mesa, King of Moab, now at the Louvre. Mesa calls himself "the Dibonite". Dibon, as far as is known, never was a Greek see, but in the course of time became a Latin titular see.
SAYCE, Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments, 77; TRISTRAM, The Land of Moab; BLISS in Palestine Explor. Fund, Quart. Statement (1895), 227; SCHICK, a plan of the ruins, in Zeitschr. d. Deutschen Palästina-Vereins, II.
S. Pétridès.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sebastian Brunner

From volume 3 of the work.
A versatile and voluminous writer, b. in Vienna, 10 December, 1814; d. there, 27 November, 1893. He received his college education from the Benedictines of his native city, his philosophical and theological training at the Vienna University, was ordained priest in 1838, and was for some years professor in the philosophical faculty of the Vienna University. The University of Freiburg honored him with the degree of Doctor of Theology. In the revolutionary year, 1848, he founded the "Wienver Kirchenzeitung", which he edited until 1865, and in which he scourged with incisive satire the Josephinist bondage of the Church. It is mainly owing to his fearless championship, which more than once brought him into conflict with the authorities, that the Church in Austria to-day breathes more freely. He wrote some ascetical books and many volumes of sermons, also a biography of Clemens Hofbauer, the apostle of Vienna. His books of travel dealing with Germany, France, England, Switzerland, and especially Italy, are distinguished by keen observations on men and manners, art and culture, and most of all on religion, and are thus connected closely with his apologetic and controversial writings. Among the latter may be mentioned his book on "The Atheist Renan and his Gospel". Brunner's voluminous historical works are very valuale, particularly those on the history of the Church in Austria. It is, however, as a humorist that Brunner takes a permanent place in the history of literature, for he counts among the best modern German humorous writers. His works of this class were composed partly in verse, which at times reminds the reader of Hudibras, and partly in the form of prose stories. One of the best of the former is "Der Nebeljungen Lied"; of the latter, "Die Prinzenschule zu Möpselglück". These works, conceived with a high and noble purpose, are marked by brilliant satire, inexhaustible wit, and genuine humour, combined with great depth of feeling. A collection of his stories in prose and verse was published in eighteen volumes at Ratisbon in 1864. It is not surprising, though it is regrettable, that an author whose literary output was so vast and varied, often shows signs of haste and a lack of artistic finish. In his later years he turned his satirical pen against the undiscriminating worship of modern German literary celebrities.
Selbstiographie (Autobiography (Ratisbon, 1890-91)l Scheicher, Sebastian Brunner (Wurzburg and Vienna, 1890); Lindemann, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (Freiburg im Br., 1898), 938, 939; Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, XLVII (Supplement, 1903), s.v.
B. GULDNER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sebastiano de Herrera Barnuevo

From volume 7 of the work.
A painter, architect, sculptor and etcher; born in Madrid, 1611 or 1619; died there, 1671; son of Antonio Herrera, a sculptor of fair ability, who, after teaching his son the rudiments of his art, placed him with Cano. Under this famous artist he made such great progress in both painting and sculpture that Philip IV took him into his service, commanded him to decorate the chapel of Our Lady of Atocha, and made him guardian of the Escorial, for which he henceforth worked. Most of his pictures are in Madrid. His masterpiece is the "St. Barnabas" in the hail of the council-chamber in the Escorial, and was long regarded as by the hand of Guido. Nearly as famous is the "Beatification of St. Augustine" in the chapel of the Augustinian Recollects and the "Nativity" in the church of San Gerónimo. Barnuevo's colouring was as brilliant and harmonious as that of Titian, whom he imitated; his style was scarcely to be differentiated from Guido's; his draughtsmanship was excellent, and his work with the graver and etching-needle highly esteemed. He was an able architect, and won such fame in this branch of art that he received many commissions from the Court and the nobility. He was a simple, modest, urbane, and deeply religious man, as well as a most versatile artist.
SANTOS, La Descripción del Escorial (Madrid, 1657); QUELLIET, Dictionnaire des peintres espagnols (Paris, s. d.); SIRET, Dictionnaire historique des peintres (Louvain, 1883).
Leigh Hunt.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sebastião Barradas

From volume 2 of the work.
A Portuguese exegete and preacher, born at Lisbon in 1543; died at Coimbra in 1615. In 1558 he entered the Society of Jesus. He was professor of scripture for many years at Coimbra and Evora and preached with such zeal that he was styled the Apostle of Portugal. He published two works:
JOHN CORBETT
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sebastopolis

From volume 13 of the work.
A titular see in Armenia Prima, suffragan of Sebastia. The primitive name of this city was Carana, dependent on Zela, which was included in the principality given to Ateporix by Anthony or Augustus. On the death of the Galatian tetrarch (3 or 2 B.C.) it was incorporated in Pontus Galaticus and made part of the Roman Empire. Carana formed a city peopled by the inhabitants of the surrounding country, and whose era was dated from this event. It is probably at that time or perhaps a little later, in A.D. 19, that the name of Sebastopolis appeared. The town was organized like all the provincial cities; it worshiped the emperors; with some adjacent towns it formed a conventus of which the capital was Neocaesarea; it had coins dating from Trajan. The city received its importance from its position on the great highway leading from Tavium in Galatea towards Sebastia and Armenia. It seems that Trajan, who annexed Pontus Galaticus to the reorganized Cappadocia, made Sebastopolis a centre of Roman culture in a still barbarous country. Adrian visited the city in 124; under this prince and his successors its beauty was increased by the erection of new edifices, a stadium, a portico, a gymnasium, and temples; the principal god was Hercules, whence its surname Heracleopolis. Under Justinian (Novell. xxxi, 1) Sebastopolis was one of the villages of Armenia Secunda; later one finds it placed by the Greek "Notitiae episcopatum" in Armenia Secunda or Prima, until the thirteenth century, first among the suffragans of Sebastia. Le Quien (Oriens christ., I, 425) gives four bishops: Meletius, fourth century; Cecropius 451; Gregory, 458; Photius, 692. By the inscription Sebastopolis is identified with Soulou Serai, a village of 500 inhabitants to the south-east of Zileh, formerly Zela, vilayet of Sivas. The chief ancient relic is a bridge over the Scylax. There is also a Byzantine cemetery which furnishes numerous inscriptions.
SMITH, Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Geog., s. v.; ANDERSON, Studia Pontica (Brussels, 1903), 34-6; F. AND E. CUMONT, Ibid. (Brussels, 1906), 201-9.
S. Pétridès.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sebastian Westcott

From volume 15 of the work.
English organist, born about 1524, was a chorister, under Redford, at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and in 1550 became organist, almoner, and master of the boys of that cathedral. He retained his post at St. Paul's, under Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, from 1550 to 1583, and this notwithstanding the fact that he was an avowed protagonist of the ancient Faith, for which he suffered deprivation and even imprisonment. His chief title to fame rests on the many plays and pageants, with music, which he produced for the delectation of the English Court during a period of thirty-three years, these plays being performed by the boys of the cathedral school. So celebrated was he in this respect that he is seldom mentioned by his surname (Westcott), but almost invariably as "Master Sebastian". Under Queen Mary this Catholic organist had the honour of arranging the music for the formal restoration of the ancient Faith at St. Paul's, in Nov., 1553, and he composed a "Te Deum" which was sung on 9 Feb., 1554, on the suppression of Wyatt's rebellion. He also conducted the service for the reception of Cardinal Pole on the first Sunday of Advent, 1554, when the beautiful motet: "Te spectant Reginalde Pole", by Orlando di Lassus, was sung. Di Lassus was in England at this time, as was also Philippe de Monti, and both were probably present.
Under Elizabeth, in 1559, Westcott refused to subscribe to the new "articles", and was deprived of his post, but owing to the favour of the queen was permitted to retain it. Official documents from 11559 to 1561 amply prove that "Master Sebastian" was well paid for his musical and dramatic performances. Rev. Dr. Nicholas Sander, in a report to Cardinal Morone, in May 1561, highly praises Westcott. At length, in December, 1577, he was deprived by the Protestant Bishop Allmer and imprisoned in the Marshalsea as a Catholic recusant. Evidently Queen Elizabeth missed her customary Christmas plays by the choristers of St. Pal's, and so she ordered the release of Master Sebastian on 19 March, 1578. Even during the fierce persecution of the year 1583 this sturdy confessor-musician was allowed to continue in office, but in 1583 his name disappears from official records and he either resigned or died in that year. His successor was appointed in 1584.
BIRT, Elizabethan Religious Settlement (London, 1907); GRATTAN-FLOOD, Master Sebastian in The Musical Antiquary (April, 1912).
W. H. Grattan-Flood.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sebastian Redford

From volume 12 of the work.
Redford, Sebastian, born 27 April, 1701; died 2 January, 1763. Educated at St. Omer, Watten, and Liège, he became a Jesuit and lived as chaplain with the Wrights of Kelvedon, then with the Herberts of Powis (1733-48). Redford was much trusted by the second Marquess of Powis (died 1745), but the third was unfriendly. When he died (1748), a Protestant succeeded, the chaplaincy lapsed, and Redford had, as he says, "to rue the ruin" of his former flock. He was next stationed at Croxteth, the seat of Lord Molineux, where he published "An important Inquiry; or the Nature of Church Reformation fully considered" (1751). The book was a success, but the excise officers seized and destroyed 400 copies, the last half of the edition. A second and enlarged edition appeared in 1758. Redford's extant letters (preserved by the English Jesuits) show a strong and attractive personality, and throw some light on the period when most priests were chaplains in Catholic families.
FOLEY, Records of the English Province, S. J., VII (1882), 640.
J. H. POLLEN.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sebastian von Rostock

From volume 13 of the work.
Bishop of Breslau, b. at Grottkau, Silesia, 24 Aug. 1607; d. at Breslau, 9 June, 1671. He studied classics at Neisse and from 1627 to 1633, philosophy and theology at Olmutz. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1633 he was assigned to pastoral duty at Neisse, and was distinguished for his courage and oratorical talent. When the Swedes captured the city in 1642, Rostock was taken prisoner and deported to Stettin. After his release he was ennobled by the emperor, but remained pastor of Neisse until his transfer in 1649 to the cathedral of Breslau. Henceforth he played a prominent part in the administration of the diocese, and in 1653 was appointed vicar-general. It was largely through his efforts that the right of reformation (jus reformandi), granted the emperor by the peace of Westphalia, was effectively exercised in the territory of Breslau, so that 656 Catholic churches which had been seized by the Protestants were restored to their former owners. Considerable difficulty was experienced in providing suitable priests for these numerous churches, and in infusing new religious life into an almost completely-ruined diocese. But Rostock consecrated his life to the task, in spite of the additional difficulty from the almost uninterrupted absence from their diocese of the three bishops under whom he served. In 1664 he was himself elected bishop, and shortly after the civil administration of the district was also placed in his hands. He continued with greater independence in work of Catholic reorganization, endeavoured to suppress the power of the Protestants over affairs of the Catholic Church and to neutralize the anti-Catholic influence of Protestant teachers. He succumbed to an attack of apoplexy, superinduced by an imperial decree which suspended a decision that had been previously granted and which was favourable to Catholic interests.
Jungnitz, Sebastian von Rostock (Breslau, 1891).
N.A. WEBER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre-Jean Beckx

From volume 2 of the work.
Twenty-second General of the Society of Jesus, born at Sichem, Belgium, 8 February, 1795; died at Rome, 4 March, 1887. Father Beckx was ordained priest, 7 March, 1819, and appointed to a little parish near Brussels; eight months afterwards he resigned this office and entered the Society of Jesus at Hildesheim, Germany. Having learned the German language, he was soon able to preach, hear confessions, and give retreats in German. The Duke and Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen were converted to the Catholic faith in 1825 and asked for a Jesuit chaplain; Father Beckx was appointed to this duty, and went to live in Koethen. He found only 20 Catholics there; in four years he had 200 converts. In 1830 he went to live in Vienna, where he was the only Jesuit for many years. From time to time he was called to Rome and sent on important missions to Lombardy, Hungary, and Bavaria. In 1852 he was made Provincial of Austria and brought back the Fathers of the Society to Innsbruck, Linz, and Lemberg. The next year, on the death of Father Roothaan, he was made General of the Society by the unanimous vote of the delegates from all parts of the world. The new father-general brought to his office a deep spirit of faith; a profound knowledge of the human heart; firmness and dignity; serenity of mind in extreme trial; faultless manners; and a remarkable soundness of judgment.
During the thirty-four years that Father Beckx governed the Society its membership was doubled, new provinces were established in Ireland, France, Spain,. Portugal, and America; new missions were begun in different parts of the world; the education of youth was continued with success; new colleges were opened in every province. During his term of office, eighty Jesuits were raised to the honors of the altar; all but three of these were missionaries or martyrs. The Society was expelled from Italy in 1860, from Spain in 1868, from Germany in 1873, from France and the French colonies in 1880. In 1873 Father Beckx went to live at Fiesole near Florence, where he remained until the election of Father Anderledy as Vicar-general, in 1883; then he went back to Rome, abdicating his charge entirely. There, four years later, he died at the advanced age of ninety-two years. Father Beckx was the author of "Der Monat Maria," Vienna, 1838, which passed through thirty editions in German, and was translated into English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Armenian, and Arabic.
Sommervogel, Bibl. de la c. de J.; Woodstock, Letters, XV; Messenger of the Sacred Heart (New York, 1887); Precis historique (April, 1887).
PATRICK H. KELLY
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre-Joseph-Octave Chauveau

From volume 3 of the work.
Canadian statesman, born at Quebec, 30 May, 1820; died at Montreal, 4 April, 1890. After a brilliant course at the preparatory seminary of Quebec, he studied law, and was admitted to the Bar in 1841. He was already a contributor to "Le Canadien" and "Le Courrier des Etats-Unis", and his ready pen showed that he was fitted to be a journalist rather than a barrister. In 1853 he published a novel dealing with Canadian customs which brought him an enviable reputation as a writer. Chauveau played a prominent political role. Having been elected by the County of Quebec, in 1848, to a seat in the Legislative Assembly, he was made a minister in 1851, and later solicitor- general and provincial secretary, but in 1855 abandoned politics. In that year he was chosen superintendent of education. During the twelve years of his office Chauveau gave a great impetus to primary instruction. He also established the first normal schools, and for twelve years published the "Journal de l'Instruction Publique". Having resigned his position as superintendent of education, in 1867, he returned to political life, to become first minister at Quebec. In 1873 Chauveau was called to the Senate, and became president of that body. Later he was appointed president of the Harbour Commission of Quebec, and in 1877 was made sheriff of Montreal, an office which he held until his death. He published an important work on the history of public education, as well as a detailed biography of the historian Garneau, several poems, a paraphrase of the "Dies irae", and a number of remarkable articles in the "Journal de l'Instruction Publique".
OUIMET, Les noces d'or de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, 1834-84 (Montreal, 1884); BIBAUD, Le Pantheon canadien (Montreal, 1891); BOURASSA, M. Chauveau et l'idee nationale (Montreal, 1895).
N. E. Dionne.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre-Lambert Goossens

From volume 6 of the work.
Cardinal, Archbishop of Michlin (Belgium), b. at Perck, near Vilvorde, 18 July, 1827; d. at Michlin, 25 January, 1906.
After teaching at Bruel College at Michlin, he became, in 1856, curate at the cathedral and secretary of the archbishop, and, in April, 1078, vicar-general of Cardinal Dechamps. Meanwhile he had been appointed (1860) an honorary canon of the rnetropolitan chapter. In 1880 he was made a Roman prelate, and 24 June, 1883, was consecrated at Mechlin coadjutor-bishop to Mgr. Gravez whom he succeeded as Bishop of Namur 16 July following eight months later (24 March, 1884) he became Archbishop of Mechlin, and on 24 May, 1889, he was created Cardinal-Priest of the Title of Santa-Croce in Gerusalemme. Succeeding to the See of Mechlin just when the Belgian Catholics were about to depose the Masonic government which had oppressed them since 1879, he did much to perpetuate the strong hold on political power which the Catholic party has since possessed. In order to promote thorough Christian sentiments among the workmen of the great industrial centres of his diocese, also in distant country places he provided for them greater church facilities, caused many new churches to be built, and created eighty-six parishes in twenty-two years he founded in his diocese 840 primary schools, with an attendance of 120,000 children. He also multiplied high schools for girls and for boys, opened normal and professional schools, and founded ten colleges for the teaching of humanities. Tireless in promoting the economical interests of the working classes, he organized and presided over two general congresses and five district congresses in which the social question was the chief topic of discussion. On public occasions his manner was noble and stately, yet in his dealings with priests and people he was always amiable and unaffected, and had the secret of enlisting sacrifice and devotion. To kindness he joined prudence and discretion and was thus able to avoid conflicts with the State authorities. A talented writer, his style bore the impression of the masterpieces of French pulpit eloquence, of which he was an assiduous reader.
In his "Charges and Pastoral Letters" (five volumes) and his "Occasional Addresses" accuracy of ideas, delicacy of feeling, literary tact, and purity of diction are always predominant characteristics. Though not himself a savant, he was alive to scientific needs, and greatly encouraged scientific progress in the University of Louvain, of which he was the chief patron. He reorganized the archives of his archdiocese and encouraged historical research among his clergy by requiring each parish priest to furnish his with an historical monograph on his parish.
His published works are: "Collectio Epistolarum pastoralium, decretorum, aliorumque documentorum" (5 vols., Mechlin, 1889-1906); "Discours sur la question sociale" (Mechlin, 1894); "Choix de conférences, discours et allocutions" (Mechlin, 1906).
P. LADEUZE