Silvester Petra Sancta

Silvester Petra Sancta (1590, in Rome – 6 May 1647, in Rome) was an Italian Jesuit priest, and heraldist. His name is also spelt as Sylvester Petra Sancta, Petrasancta, in Italian Padre Silvestro da Pietrasanta. Pseudonym: Coelius Servilius

He was the confessor of the Cardinal Pier Luigi Carafa (1581-1655) from a distinguished Neapolitan family. Between 1624 and 1634, Petra Sancta stayed with Carafa in Cologne where he fought against rising Protestantism through his sermons and religious discussions. He had emblem books published in 1634 and 1638, respectively. He was also Rector of the College of Loreto.

Later he settled in Rome and published his treatise on heraldry there. During the mid-1620s, he published a translation in Liège. and since 1631 he was also the editor of a book published from Antwerp. That means during the late 1620s and the early 1630s he stayed in the Spanish Low Countries and the neighboring territories. In 1634 he published his first book touching the topic of heraldry in Antwerp; but his main heraldic work containing the hatching system was published in 1638 in Rome. In 1643, he was appointed the Apostolic Visitator for the Order of Piarists. As a result of his critical visitation, Pope Innocent X reduced the order in his breve Ea quae pro felice on March 16, 1646 into a secular congregation subordinated to the local bishops. The order was rehabilitated in 1656 and renewed in 1669.

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