Peter Damian
An orphan educated through the generosity of his brother, Peter Damian (c. 1006/07-1072) became one of the great reformers of the XI Century. Peter taught at Parma before he became a Camaldolese monk in 1035. He left the solitary life to speak against simony and clerical abuses, including sexual impropriety. Stephen IX/X appointed him cardinal bishop of Ostia in 1057. Peter was also papal legate and worked to resolve disputes within the church and among the courts of Europe. Alexander II allowed Peter to resign but sent him to Ravenna to reconcile the city, whose archbishop had been excommunicated, to the papacy. Having accomplished this, Peter died en route to Rome.
Peter's invective is said to resemble that of Jerome, and although Peter was never formally canonized, Leo XII recognized him as a doctor of the church in 1828.
Karen Rae Keck
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