Niccolo Orlandini

Niccolò Orlandini

Born at Florence, 1554; died 1606 at Rome, 17 May. He entered the Jesuit novitiate 7 Nov., 1572; became rector of the Jesuit college at Nola; was master of novices at Naples for five years; and finally appointed secretary of the general Acquaviva, who in 1558 detailed him to write the history of the Jesuit Order. This work comprises only the generalate of St. Ignatius. It was edited by Sacchini, and appeared under the title "Historiæ Societatis Jesu prima pars" (Rome, 1614, 1615, 1621; Antwerp, 1620; Cologne, 1620). It is written in the form of annals, and is based chiefly on a life written by the saint's secretary, de Polanco. Ranke, "Hist. Of the Popes", III (London, 1903), 328, says of Orlandini: "In his style of writing, as well as in the business of life, he was exceedingly careful, accurate, and wary". The history was continued by Sacchini, Possinus, Jouvancy, and Cordara. The sixth and last part, reaching to 1633, was published at Rome in 1758. Other works are: "Annuæ litteræ Societatis Jesu, anni 1583-85" (Rome, 1585-86-88); "Vita Petri Fabri" (Lyons, 1617); the same under the title "Forma sacerdotis Apostolici, expressa in exemplo Petri Fabri" (Dillingen, 1647); and "Tractatus seu Commentarii in Summarium Constitutionum et in regulas communes" ed. Soero (Roehampton, 1876). His "Vita Petri Fabri" has been translated into French (Bordeaux, 1617) and Italian (Rome, 1629).

Sommervogel, Bibliothèque de la C. de J., V (Brussels and Paris, 1894), 1934-35; Sacchini in introduction to Historiæ Societatis Jesu prima pars, mentioned above.

MICHAEL OTT