Lejay (Lat Laius), Claude

Lejay (Lat. Laius), Claude one of the fathers of the Jesuit order, was born at Aise, in Faucigny, in the diocese of Geneva, about 1505. He commenced his studies at the College of La Roche, and completed them at Paris. He allied himself in friendship with Peter Fadire, which, in 1535, led to his becoming a Jesuit, and a great help to his order. In 1545 he assisted at the Council of Trent. He afterwards directed the College of Boulogne, where he received the degree of doctor of theology. He then returned to Germany, taught at Ingolstadt, then at Vienna, in June 1551, where he died, August 6, 1552. He composed various works, which were only published in the Speculum Praesulis ex Sacrce Scripturae, Canonum et Doctorum Verbis (Ingolstadt, 1625, and in volume 17 of the OEuvres of P. Gretser, Ratisbon, 1741). See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.