PUENTE, Luis de la, Venerable. - Jesuit, ascetical and mystical writer, b. at Valladolid on 11 Nov. 1554, d. there on 16 Feb. 1624.

Having entered the Society in 1574, he was professor of philosophy at León and of theology at Salamanca and Valladolid; but, soon released from teaching because of his poor health, he devoted himself entirely to spiritual direction and to the composition of his works, which won him that universal esteem which is not yet extinguished.

He wrote: Meditaciones de los Misterios de nuestra Santa Fe (2 vols., Valladolid 1605), in which, beginning from the end of man and from the last things and continuing with the life of Jesus Christ up to the Ascension, he concludes with contemplations on the divine attributes. The most complete series of meditations, admirable for its theological depth, the clarity of its exposition and especially for the moving concluding prayers of each point, which spread in countless editions and versions, including recent ones, and was used by many saints, and to which one always returns as to a virgin spring. There followed: Guía espiritual (ibid. 1609), which teaches the way to meditate and to arrive at contemplation and at even extraordinary divine visitations; De la perfección del cristiano en todos sus estados (vols. I and II, ibid. 1612-13; vol. III, Pamplona 1616); Directorio espiritual para la Confessión, Comunión y Sacrificio de la Misa (Seville 1625). More intimately bound to mysticism are the two biographies: Vida del p. Baltasar Alvarez (Madrid 1615), where, more than the life of that spiritual master of his, he sets out the whole journey toward a holiness accompanied by spiritual gifts; Vida maravillosa de la ven. virgen Doña Marina de Escobar (afterwards completed by p. Pinto Ramirez [v. Sommervogel, VI, 833), published at Madrid 1673), a soul favored with extraordinary graces; and the biblical commentary: Expositio moralis et mystica in Canticum canticorum (Cologne 1622). One may also mention: Tesoro escondido en las enfermedades (posthumous, Madrid 1672) and Memorial, a spiritual diary, so far published only partially under the title: Sentimientos y avisos espirituales del ven. p. L. de la P. (Seville 1671, edited by p. Tirso Gonçalez).

The cause of beatification of de la P. was introduced in 1667 and the heroicity of his virtues proclaimed in 1759.

Bibliography7 works

BIBL.: works: L. de la P., Obras espirituales, 5 vols., Madrid 1690 (cf. also Sommervogel, VI, 1271-95; IX, 786-87). Studies: Fr. Cachupin, Vida y virtudes del ven. p. L. de la P., Salamanca 1652 (Italian vers., Venice 1733); J. May, Der ehrw. p. Ludwig de Ponte. Sein Leben und seine Schriften, in Zeitschr. für Aszese u. Mystik, 1 (1926), pp. 367-375; C. M. Abad, El ven. p. L. de la P., Valladolid 1935; C. A. Kneller, L. de la P., in Zeitschr. f. Aszese u. Mystik, 14 (1939), pp. 185-202; J. Beumer, Die Theologie der mystischen Beschauung im Kommentar zum Hohen Lied des p. L. de la P., ibid., 17 (1942), pp. 77-90; S. Tromp, Ven. Ludovicus de Ponte et co-oblatio fidelium in sacrificio Missae, in Period. de re mor., canon., liturg., 31 (1942), pp. 345-51.

Celestino Testore

@incollection{ec10_puente_luis_de_la_venerabile, author = {Testore, Celestino}, title = {Puente, luis de la, venerabile}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {X}, pages = {303--304}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/puente-luis-de-la-venerabile} }

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Puente, Luis de la, Venerable

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