Life

Gibbons was born in 1544, at or near Wells, Somerset.
The Jesuit Richard Gibbons

Richard Gibbons

Richard Gibbons was an English Jesuit scholar.-Life:After making his early studies in England, and completing a two years' course in philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven and in the German College at Rome, he entered the Society of Jesus, on 1 September 1572, and continued his studies...

 was his younger brother.

He entered Lincoln College, Oxford

Lincoln College, Oxford

Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...

, in 1561, but left the university without a degree. After studying philosophy and theology for seven years in the German College, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, he obtained the doctorate in both, 1576.

Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted civil calendar to this date.-Youth:He was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and wife Angela...

 gave him a canonry in the Cathedral Church in Bonn, in Germany, but he resigned this on entering the Society of Jesus at Trier, in 1578. In the college of this latter place he filled successively the offices of confessor, professor of theology, professor of Sacred Scripture, prefect of studies, and rector. He became known on account of his controversial talents, which he displayed in frequent contests with the Lutherans of Germany.

When William Allen suggested Father Gibbons as a fit candidate for the English mission, the latter wrote both to the general of the Society and Dr. Allen, that he hoped he should give no disedification by saying that he had not the spiritual strength necessary for such an enterprise, but that he would lend it all the assistance in his power.

He died on 16 August or 3 December 1589, during a visit to the monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 of Himmelbrode, near Trier

Trier

Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....

.

Works

Among his literary works is "Concertatio Ecclesiæ Catholicæ in Anglica, adversus Calvino-Papistas et Puritanos" (Trier, 1583). The work was republished on a larger scale in 1588 and 1594, by Dr. John Bridgewater

John Bridgewater

John Bridgewater, known also as Aquapontanus, was an English clerical historian of the Catholic Confessors under Queen Elizabeth I Tudor.-Biography:...

, who numbered among his assistants Cardinal Allen and Dr. Humphrey Ely

Humphrey Ely

Humphrey Ely, LL.D. was an English Catholic divine.-Life:Ely was the brother of William Ely, President of St. John's College, Oxford, and was a native of Herefordshire. After studying for some time at Brasenose College, Oxford, he was elected a scholar of St...

.

Dr. Bridgewater also edited (see, however, Dictionary of National Biography

Dictionary of National Biography

The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...

, s. v.) a posthumous work of Gibbons entitled "Confutatio virulentæ disputationis theologicæ in qua Georgius Sohn, Professor Academiæ Heidelburgensis, conatus est docere Pontificum Romanum esse Antichristum a prophgetis et apostolis prædictum" (Trier, 1589). The Calvinist attacks on the Pope are dealt with.