BZOVIUS (BZOWSKI), ABRAHAM. – Polish Dominican preacher, celebrated for his fiery oratory. Born at Proszowice in 1567, he died in Rome in 1637, where he spent many years of his life, detained there by Urban VIII, and where he was buried in the church of Minerva. He was professor of theology at Ferrara and of philosophy at Milan, vicar at Warsaw, in the vicinity of which he founded the college of Nove-Miasto (1603), and prior of Cracow and Breslau. He published various sermons and historical works, the principal of which is the continuation of Baronio’s Ecclesiastical Annals, in 9 vols., covering the period from 1198 to 1572 (eds. Rome 1616–72). This is certainly a work of great scope, although it lacks a genuine critical sense and a careful study of the problems.
Renata Orazi Ausenda