Paolo Segneri

1624-1694. Jesuit preacher. Born at Nettuno, he studied at the Roman College, entered the Jesuit Order (1637), and was ordained (1653). He was a pupil of Sforza Pallavicino, whose sacred oratory much influenced him and led to the study of classical and patristic oratory. His preaching ministry, sometimes accompanied by self-flagellation and penitential processions, began in cathedral pulpits, and from 1661 until 1692 he conducted many popular missions and Lenten series. Innocent XII called him to Rome as his preacher (1692), making him theologian of the Sacred Penitentiary. Likened to Savonarola,* he did much to reform pulpit oratory. He also wrote works against Quietism* and Probabiliorism.*