He was born in
Toledo, Spain on 8 September 1515. He studied literature and philosophy at
Alcalá and then philosophy and theology at the
Sorbonne in Paris. Here, through
Diego Laynez, he met
St. Ignatius of Loyola and with Laynez,
St. Peter Faber and
St. Francis Xavier, he enlisted as one of the first companions of Loyola in 1534. The small company left Paris on 15 November 1536, reached
Venice on 8 January 1537 and during
Lent of that year went to
Rome. He delivered a discourse before the Pope and was, in return, granted leave to receive
Holy orders so soon as he reached canonical age. About 8 September, all the first companions met at
Vicenza and all, save St. Ignatius, said their first Mass. The plan of a
pilgrimage to the
Holy Land was abandoned. Salmeron devoted his ministry in
Siena to the poor and to children. On 22 April 1541, he pronounced his
solemn vows in
St. Paul's-Outside-the-Walls basilica as a professed member of the newly established
Society of Jesus. In the autumn of 1541
Pope Paul III sent Salmeron and
Paschase Broët as
Apostolic nuncios to
Ireland. They landed by way of Scotland on 23 February 1542. Thirty-four days later they set sail for
Dieppe and went on to Paris. For two years Salmeron preached in Rome; his exposition of the
Pauline Epistle to the Ephesians thrice a week in the church of the Society effected much good (1545). After preaching during
Lent at
Bologna, he went with Diego Laynez to the
Council of Trent (18 May 1546) as theologian to Paul III. The
Dogma of Justification was under discussion. The two Jesuits at once reportedly won the hearts and respect of all; their discourses had to be printed and distributed to the bishops. Both set out for Bologna (14 March 1547) with the council. After serious sickness at
Padua, Salmeron once again took up his council work. Salmeron gave statements on issues including justification,
Holy Eucharist,
penance,
purgatory, indulgences, the Sacrifice of the Mass, matrimony and the origin of episcopal jurisdiction. The next two years were in great part spent in preaching at Bologna, Venice, Padua and
Verona. On 4 October 1549, Salmeron and his companions,
Claude Le Jay and
Peter Canisius, took their doctorate at the
University of Bologna, so that they might, at the urgent invitation of
William IV of Bavaria, accept chairs in
Ingolstadt. Salmeron undertook to interpret the Pauline
Epistle to the Romans. Upon the death of Duke William, at the instigation of the
Bishop of Verona, much to the chagrin of the faculty of the Academy of Ingolstadt, Salmeron was returned to Verona (24 September 1550). That year he explained the
Gospel of St. Matthew. In 1551 he was summoned to Rome to help St. Ignatius in working up the Constitutions (statutes) of the Jesuit Society. Other work was in store. He was soon (February, 1551) sent down to Naples to inaugurate the Society's first college there, but after a few months was summoned by Ignatius to go back to the Council of Trent as theologian to pope
Julius III. It was during the discussions preliminary to these sessions that
Laynez and Salmeron, as papal theologians, gave their vota first. When the Council once again suspended its sessions, Salmeron returned to Naples (October, 1552).
Pope Paul IV sent him to the
Augsburg Diet (May, 1555) with
nuncio Lippomanus, and thence into
Poland and in April, 1556 to Belgium. Another journey to Belgium was undertaken in the capacity of adviser to
Cardinal Giovanni Pietro Caraffa (2 December 1557).
Laynez appointed Salmeron first Jesuit
Provincial of Naples in 1558 and
vicar-general in 1561 during the former's apostolic legation to France. The Council of Trent was again resumed (May, 1562) and a third pontiff,
Pius IV, chose Salmeron and
Laynez for papal theologians. The subject to be discussed was very delicate: the Divine origin of the rights and duties of bishops. During the years 1564–82, Salmeron was engaged chiefly in preaching and writing; he preached every day during eighteen Lenten seasons; his preaching was fervent, learned and fruitful. His writings during this long period were voluminous; Saint
Robert Bellarmine spent five months in Naples reviewing them; each day he pointed out to Salmeron the portions that were not up to the mark, and the next day the latter brought back those parts corrected. He died at Naples on 13 February 1585. ==Works==