Sixteenth point. His conferences with the heretics

Her answer on the sixteenth point was :

Our Blessed Founder went twice to Geneva to endeavour to convert the arch-heretic Beza; and this by command of our Holy Father, Pope Clement VIII, as may be seen by the briefs sent to him on the subject. An enterprise fraught indeed with danger to his life, had it been dis covered.

He went also to Geneva to try to convince by his arguments M. de la Faye, a Minister who by his artifices was retarding the absolute con version of that Seigneur d'Avully, of whom I have already spoken as having been instructed by our Blessed Founder in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Faith. This Minister was constantly making appointments to meet his opponent, but always when the time fixed arrived he failed to appear. Our Blessed Founder therefore resolved to go and meet him on his own ground in Geneva. This he did, and as I have been told by many distinguished and credible persons, he absolutely convinced and silenced him, although with his accustomed gentleness and modesty.

It is also a well-known fact that he sought out the Ministers of Geneva and urged them to hold conferences with him on controversial points, which they always refused to do. On one occasion even he offered to go with six of the clergy to the city of Geneva, giving the heretical Ministers permission to confront this small band of Priests with as many of themselves as they pleased. This I have heard from the lips of our Blessed Founder himself, and he added, that his confidence that he should con vince them rested solely on the power of the one true Catholic Faith and not on his own learning, or that of his assistants.

It is also a well-known fact that many, many times, at Paris, Grenoble, and various other places, he held conferences with heretics, and converted great numbers of them, even of their Ministers. The late Monseigneur Cardinal du Perron said, therefore, that if any one wished to confound the heretics, they must be brought to him, but if any one wished to convert them, they must be

74 Saint Sane J* to (HJjantal'* taken to the Bishop of Geneva, who had received from God a special gift for that work. All this is true, &c.