Segneri, Paolo

Segneri, Paolo (1), an Italian preacher, was born at Nettuno, March 21, 1624, of an old Roman family. In 1638 he entered the Order of the Jesuits at the College of St. Andrew, in Rome, where he taught grammar, and earnestly studied the Scriptures, the fathers, and the classical writers. Unable to obtain authority as a missionary to the Indies, he traveled on foot, from 1665 to 1692, through Italy, especially in Perugia and Mantua, gathering crowds to hear his discourses. Innocent XII called him to Rome in 1692 as his preacher in ordinary; but he was not so popular there, and was shortly appointed theologian to the penitentiary and examiner of bishops. His hearing, however, having failed, he died Dec. 9, 1694, worn out with labor. He wrote several works on practical theology, which are enumerated in Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Générale, s.v.