TAPPER, RUARD. - Theologian, b. at Enkhuizen (Belgium) on 14 Feb. 1487, d. at Brussels on 2 March 1559.

A disciple of Adriaan Florensz (the future Adrian VI) at the University of Louvain, he became a priest, dean of the Facultas artium (1517), doctor in theology (1519), dean of the theological faculty of Louvain (1530), and inquisitor general of the Netherlands (1537). His uncommon intellectual gifts and above all the balance and firmness he demonstrated in the office of inquisitor made him a widely esteemed person and influential. Wishing to offer, in clear formulas, the Catholic doctrine to be preached to the people and to be opposed to the Protestant heresy, he drafted a series of 59 dogmatic propositions, which he then reduced to 32. The work, published at Louvain (1545), met with great success and merited the approval of Pius IV (1561). On these propositions T. composed two commentaries, a synthesis of his university teaching: Declaratio articulorum... adversus nostri temporis haereses (Lyons 1554); Explicaciones articulorum... circum dogmata ecclesiastica (Louvain 1555). Sent to Trent by Charles V (Sept. 1551), T. won the admiration of the Council and worked actively on the drafting of session XIV (Sacrament of Penance). Having returned to Louvain (Apr. 1552), he engaged in a determined struggle against his former disciple Michael Baius (v.) and concerned himself with the establishment of new bishoprics in his homeland.

Besides the works mentioned, he wrote: Quaestio quodlibetica de effectibus, quos consuetudo operatur in foro conscientiae (Louvain 1520); Orationes theologicae (Cologne 1577). Almost all were gathered in: R. Tapperi omnia, quae haberi potuerunt, opera (ibid. 1582).

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: Hurter, IV, coll. 1234-35; L. Capéran, Le problème du salut des infidèles, I, Paris 1934, pp. 175-76; E. Mersch, Le Corps mystique, II, 2nd ed., ibid. 1936, pp. 172-208, 282, 284; J. Mercier, s. v. in DThC, XV, coll. 52-54.

Antonio Piolanti

@incollection{ec11_tapper_ruard, author = {Piolanti, Antonio}, title = {Tapper, ruard}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {1745--1746}, 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/tapper-ruard} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Tapper, Ruard

About this entry