Francisco Peña

(PEGNA)

A canonist, born at Villaroya de los Pinares, near Saragossa, about 1540; died at Rome, in 1612. He devoted himself to the study of law at Valencia. Later Philip II appointed him auditor of the Rota for Spain, and while at Rome he performed great services not only for his fellow-countrymen but also for the Holy See. He formed one of the commission charged with the preparation of the official edition of the “Corpus juris canonici”, published in 1582, and the anonymous notes appended to the edition of the Decretals are attributed to him; he was also concerned in the canonization of several saints: Didacus, Hyacinth, Raymond, Charles Borromeo, and Frances of Rome, publishing biographies of several. His principal works are: “In Directorium Inquisitorum a Nicolao Eimerico conscriptum commentaria” (Rome, 1578); “De officio Inquisitionis” (Cremona, 1655); “In Ambrosii de Vignate tractatum de hæresi commentaria et in Pauli Grillandi de hæreticis et eorum pœnis notæ” (Rome, 1581); “In Bernardi Comensis Dominicani Lucernam inquisitorum notæ et ejusdem tractatum de strigibus” (Rome, 1584); “Responsio canonica ad scriptum nuper editum in causa Henrici Borbonii quo illius fauntores persuadere nituntur episcopos in Francia jure illos absolvere potuisse” (Rome, 1595); “Censura in arrestum Parlamentale Curiæ criminalis Parisiensis contra Joannem Castellum et patres Societatis Jesu” (Rome, 1595); “De temporali regno Christi” (Rome, 1611). His “Decisiones sacræ Rotæ” were published by Urritigoiti (2 vols., Saragossa, 1648-50).