---
title: "St. Robert Bellarmine: Feast Day September 17 · Bless"
url: https://blessbible.app/saints/st-robert-bellarmine/
description: "St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, patron of catechists and canon lawyers. Remembered on September 17. Read their life in Bless."
---

Bishop and Doctor of the Church · Remembered on September 17

# St. Robert Bellarmine

St. Robert Bellarmine is remembered on September 17 in Bless’s calendar of saints. Traditionally invoked as patron of catechists and canon lawyers.

|  |  |
|---|---|
| Remembered on | [September 17](https://blessbible.app/saints/september/#17) |
| Title | Bishop and Doctor of the Church |
| Died | 1621 |
| Patron of | [catechists](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#catechists), [canon lawyers](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#canon-lawyers) |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | [Friday, September 17, 2027](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-robert-bellarmine/#calendar) |

## Life

A Tuscan Jesuit, nephew of a pope, and the Counter-Reformation’s most formidable theologian: his Controversies stated Protestant arguments so fairly that some thought the book dangerous to print. He wrote two catechisms that taught Catholics for three centuries, and served on the commission that produced the revised Vulgate.

As cardinal he lived on bread and garlic, gave his hangings to the poor, and once freed a caged bird a visitor had given him. He was a friend of Galileo, whom he cautioned rather than condemned. Doctor of the Church since 1931.

## Patron of

Tradition invokes St. Robert Bellarmine as patron of catechists and canon lawyers.

[Catechists](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#catechists) [Canon lawyers](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#canon-lawyers)

### Saints with the same patronage

- [St. Raymond of Peñafort](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-raymond-of-penafort/) canon lawyers · January 7

Patronages are traditional, not an official list. [All patron saints in Bless, A to Z](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/).

## In the calendar

The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Robert Bellarmine. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.

| Date | In the US calendar | Color | Mass readings (US) |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Friday, September 17, 2027](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2027/09/17/) | Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time | Green | 1 Timothy 6:2c-12 · Psalm 49:6-7, 8-10, 17-18, 19-20 · See Matthew 11:25 · Luke 8:1-3 |
| [Sunday, September 17, 2028](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2028/09/17/) | Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Green | Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 · Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17 and 19 · 1 Timothy 1:12-17 · 2 Corinthians 5:19 · Luke 15:1-32 or 15:1-10 |

Readings

Later citations were computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish.

[September 16 St. Cyprian](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-cyprian/) [September 18 St. Joseph of Cupertino](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-joseph-of-cupertino/)

[All the saints of September](https://blessbible.app/saints/september/) [Born on September 17?](https://blessbible.app/saints/birthday/#09-17) [A saint for every day](https://blessbible.app/saints/)

Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? [Report an error](https://blessbible.app/support/#report) and we’ll fix it in the app and here.

St. Robert Bellarmine

Remembered on September 17

On this page

1. [Life](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-robert-bellarmine/#life)
2. [Patron of](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-robert-bellarmine/#patron)
3. [In the calendar](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-robert-bellarmine/#calendar)

In the app

Bless shows a saint every day on its Today screen, with their life and their words. Free on iPhone.