Full of Bull

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Okay, that’s a dumb pun, but Fr. David Wolfe was the first, and likely will remain the only, Wolfe ever to be named in a papal bull. In 1560, Pope Pius IV issued a bull calling for the establishment of Catholic schools and universities in Ireland. (The link gives credit to Pius V.) Other firsts for Fr. Wolfe: the first Wolfe Jesuit, the first and only Wolfe to befriend the Jesuits’ saintly founder, Ignatius (seen above). He even knew another saint: Saint Francis Borgia. And he is believed to be …

… the first Wolfe to sign his name in Irish, as de Bhulbh. The image above how the name appears in Fr. Patrick Woulfe’s volume on Irish names.

Fr. David Wolfe is a fascinating character, in other words. The queen eventually threw him in prison, where he was tortured. Upon his escape, he made it to Spain and attempted to convince King Philip to invade Ireland.