LOUISMET, Savinien. - Benedictine mystical theologian, born Irenée, at Sens (France) on 4 Apr. 1858, died at Buckfast on 19 Jan. 1926. He completed his studies at the cathedral school and then at the minor seminary of Auxerre.
He became a monk at La Pierre-qui-Vire in 1876, was ordained priest in 1882, and for thirteen years exercised the apostolic ministry among the Indians of North America entrusted to a Benedictine abbey. This missionary experience among the Sioux made a deep impression on his spirit; he wrote down his experiences day by day and published part of them in 1899. On his return to Europe, after a brief stay in Rome, he was appointed conventual prior of Buckfast in England in 1902. Soon after, when the monastery was raised to the rank of an abbey, he resigned his office and lived as a simple monk until the end of his extraordinarily active life of study.
Louismet treated of the mystical life in an original and simple manner, identifying it with fervent Christian life. This drew criticism upon him, but the influence exerted by his concise treatises, translated into many languages, was considerable and profound. Works: *Essai sur la connaissance mystique de Dieu*, Tours 1922; *La vie mystique*, Paris 1922; *Miracle et mystique*, 1923; *La contemplation chrétienne*, 1924; *Le mystère de Jésus*, 1925; *Institution mystique*, 1926.