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306 BENEDICT VADAKKEKARA ched him to Bavaria and Prague to facilitate the formation of the Catholic League against the Evangelical Union of the Lutherans and the Calvinists. He was a leading advisor to the emperor. He served the Capuchin Order in various capacities, inclu– ding that of Provincial Minister, General Vicar and General Minister ofhis Order. The credit for the laying of the foundation of the Capuchin Order in the Present– day Germany and Austria in fact goes to him. He was an accomplished polyglot and had a good command over most West European and Semitic languages3. He also wrote prolifically. ''.And the preferred weapon, a double-edged one, which he knew to use with expertise and with good results as few could hope to have, was his lively and vibrant word" 4 • In the opening paragraph of the two-page Foreword, Vernon Wagner, the trans– lator of the works from the original Latin into modern English, introduces pithily St Lawrence ofBrindisi (1559-1619) and the collection ofhis homilies when he writes: "Though not exactly a household name, this Capuchin priest has been declared a Doctor ofthe Church and his doctrinal, apologetic and devotional writings have ear– ned for him the title of the Apostolic Doctor" 5 • Inasmuch as Lawrence's lifespan falls within the period of the Counterreformation there is little wonder that his thoughts often reflect the articulated mindset of the day and consequently has not come to be viewed as a theologian for all seasons. Despite Lawrence's name not becoming a hou– sehold one, his stature as a theologian still holds the ground. In 1928-1956 a critical edition ofhis writings in 10 volumes was brought out for the first time 6 and it was a sequel to it that he was declared Doctor of the Universal Church. The Opera omnia ofLawrence ofBrindisi consist ofeight volumes ofhomilies, two didactic expositions on oratory, a commentary on the Book ofGenesis, another on the Book ofJeremiah and three volumes of theological polemics, with notes in Greek and Hebrew. The specification in the serial title of these volumes under review that the twelve Books contain the "Collected sermons and homilies" clearly implies that the other categories ofLawrence's writings do not form part of the present edition. The– refore, for this collection to fully merit the qualification of Opera omnia it needs also to be supplemented by the other writings of the Saint. Without a doubt these omitted works too have their own importance. While the Explanatio in Genesim 3 Arturo M. da Carmignano di Brenta, San Lorenzo da Brindisi. I, 163, says that right from the beginning Lawrence yearned to fed the original taste of Hebraica veritas and so enthusiasti– cally applied himself to the study ofthe biblical languages. 4 Arturo M. da Carmignano di Brenta, San Lorenzo da Brindisi. I, 181. 5 V. Wagner, Foreword, in Lawrence ofBrindisi, Opera omnia, Bk I, 9. 6 Laurentius a Brundisio (S.), Opera omnia, 1-X, a Patribus Min. Capuccinis Prov. Venetae e textu originali nunc primum in lucem edita notisque illustrata, Patavii 1928-1956.