ALONSO RODRIGUEZ. - Jesuit, writer on ascetical theology, b. at Valladolid c. 15 April 1538, d. at Seville 21 February 1616.
He entered the Order in 1557, taught moral theology for several years at the College of Monterrey, where he was also rector; then for thirty years he served as master of novices and rector of the novitiate at Montilla.
His work, which brought him lasting fame down to our own day, is *Ejercicio de perfección y virtudes cristianas* (3 vols., Seville 1609), reprinted countless times, translated into many languages (the first Italian edition appeared in 1617; adapted to the *Codex Iuris Canonici* in 1910) and lately also brought into conformity with the *Codex Iuris Canonici*. The diffusion of this work is comparable only to that of *Imitazione di Cristo*, *Combattimento spirituale* by L. Scupoli, and *Filotea* by St. Francis de Sales. Pius XI, in his apostolic letter to the major superiors of religious institutes of 19 March 1924 (*AAS*, 16 [1924], p. 142), placed R. third among authors to be read by novices, after St. Bernard and St. Bonaventure, thus echoing the universal esteem in which R. was held by many saints and by all founders of religious institutes.
The distinctive character of the work lies in the elegance of its style, the clarity and spontaneity of its discourse, and the solidity with which the author builds the edifice of perfection upon the ground of practical life, presenting the virtues as in action, without dramatic artifice, but with the simple observation of what takes place in life. Some defects are not lacking, namely, certain exaggerations, some inexact application of scriptural texts, and numerous examples that do not withstand close historical criticism.