Acquaviva, Bl. Rodolfo
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Acquaviva, Bl. Rodolfo: (b. 1550, Atri. d.1583, Cuncolium, Goa (W. India); Feast Day: July 25). Jesuit missionary. Son of the Duke of Atri, he was a nephew of Claudio Acquaviva (Aquaviva). Entering the Jesuit Order at Rome in 1568, he was ordained a priest at Lisbon in 1577. Joining the mission to India, he arrived at the Portuguese colony of Goa in 1578, where he became a teacher of philosophy. From 1580 to 1583 he led a mission to the court of the Great Mogul, Akbar. Although he familiarized that ruler with the basic teachings of Christianity he was unable to convert him. Returning to Goa in 1583, he was appointed as director of the mission to the island of Salsette. On his journey to his new post, he, with four other Jesuits, were murdered in the village of Cuncolim (N of Bombay) by Hindu natives. In 1593, he and his companions were beatified.