NUGENT, FRANCESCO. - Irish Capuchin, b. at Moyrath Castle in the county of Meath in 1569, d. at Charleville on 17 May 1635.
Graduated from the Universities of Paris and Louvain, he entered the Order in 1591. He is considered an exponent of that spiritual movement among his brethren which undervalued ascetical practices and external devotional exercises in favour of states of union with God and contemplation; but he effectively cleared himself of the accusations before the Holy Office in Rome (1599–1600) and was even entrusted with the task of composing a manual of spiritual doctrine.
Before 1597 he founded the convent at Trent; in 1602 he established a convent at Metz for the apostolate against the Calvinists; at Cologne (1611) he laid the foundations of the Rhenish province. At the same time he devoted himself to preparing missionaries for England, Scotland and Ireland; he established a house in Dublin in 1624, and subsequently missionary stations arose at Kilkenny, Limerick, Mullingar and Drogheda. To attend to this work he declined the archbishopric of Armagh. In 1628–1630 he was Apostolic Visitor in Ireland. He encountered difficulties and misunderstanding; in 1631 he was relieved of all office. His scholarly writings, on mysticism and controversy, were lost.