John Nobili

John Nobili

John Nobili, born Giovanni Pietro Antonio Nobili, (28 April, 1812 – March 1, 1856) was an Italian priest of the Society of Jesus. He was a missionary in the Oregon Territory and later founded Santa Clara College.

Born in Rome in 1812, Nobili entered the Society of Jesus in 1828 and taught humanities in Jesuit colleges in Italy, notably the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1843. Nobili was later assigned to do missionary work in North America and was assigned to accompany Father Pierre DeSmet, S.J. in his missionary work in the Oregon Territory. Nobili's missionary work took him amongst the many Native American tribes in the territory, where he learned the tribes' languages and customs.

Nobili stayed in the Oregon Territory until 1849, when he was ordered to go to California. Joined by Father Michael Accolti, S.J., Nobili first traveled to San Francisco, then onto San Jose. Upon his arrival in San Jose, Archbishop Joseph Alemany appointed him the pastor of Mission Santa Clara, then recently acquired from the Franciscans. He continued his missionary work in part, ministering to the sick and dying during a cholera epidemic in 1850.

As part of his pastoral work, Nobili established a preparatory school in 1851 on the mission's premises. In 1853 the school began offering advanced courses, and its name was changed to Santa Clara College. During Nobili's tenure as president, a new academic building and dormitory (1854), a gymnasium (1855), and a brick chapel (1856) were constructed. According to the 1854-55 Catalogue, he also directed the purchase of a "new and complete philosophical and chemical aparatus, comprising all the recent improvements" previously unavailble in California. [Quoted in "University of Santa Clara: A History". Santa Clara, CA: University Press, 1912.] The College would later grow into present-day Santa Clara University.

While overseeing the construction of the chapel in January of 1886, Nobili stepped on a nail. He died of Tetanus shortly thereafter in Santa Clara on the first day of March. Archbishop Alemany presided over his funeral Mass and laid his body to rest near the altar of the unfinished chapel.

References

External links

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4105 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nobili — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Patronyme Nobili ou de Nobili est un nom de famille d origine italienne notamment porté par : Guido Nobili, as de l aviation italien volontaire dans… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John de Brito — Infobox Saint name=Saint John de Brito birth date=March 1 1647 death date=February 11 1693 feast day=February 4 venerated in=Roman Catholic Church imagesize= caption= birth place=Lisbon, Portugal death place=Oriyur, Tamil Nadu, India… …   Wikipedia

  • Roberto de Nobili — (1577 – 16 January 1656) was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Southern India. He used a novel method of adaptation (accommodatio) to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India which were, in his view, not contrary to Christianit …   Wikipedia

  • San Francisco — • Archdiocese established 29 July 1853 to include multiple counties in the State of California, U.S.A Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. San Francisco     San Francisco      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Bellarmine College Preparatory — Infobox School name = Bellarmine College Preparatory imagesize = caption = streetaddress = 960 West Hedding Street city = San Jose state = California county = Santa Clara County zipcode = 95126 country = USA coordinates = coord|37.342172|… …   Wikipedia

  • Santa Clara University — Infobox University name =Santa Clara University image size =140px motto = Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (Latin, To the Greater Glory of God ) tagline =The Jesuit University in Silicon Valley established =1851 type =Private, Roman Catholic Society of… …   Wikipedia

  • Nicholas Congiato — S.J. 2nd President of Santa Clara University Term 1856 – 1857 Predecessor John Nobili, S.J. Successor Felix Cicaterri, S.J …   Wikipedia

  • List of Santa Clara University people — University presidents = *John Nobili, S.J., 1851 56 *Nicholas Congiato, S.J., 1856 57 *Felix Cicaterri, S.J., 1857 61 *Burchard Villiger, S.J., 1861 65 *Aloysius Masnata, S.J., 1865 68 *Aloysius Varsi, S.J., 1868 76 *Aloysius Brunengo, S.J., 1876 …   Wikipedia

  • Thompson River Indians — • Also known as Knife Indians Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Thompson River Indians     Thompson River Indians     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Catholic Indian Missions of Canada —     Catholic Indian Missions of Canada     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Catholic Indian Missions of Canada     The French discoverers of Canada did not fail to impress the aborigines they met with a vague idea of the religion they professed. Thus,… …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”