[1] He studied at the Irish College, Douai, and at the University of Salamanca, where he graduated doctor in civil and canon law.
One of his first tasks was to resolve disputes between secular (parish) and religious (such as the Cistercians) clergy over faculties and jurisdiction.
Rothe was under close government surveillance, and the fact that he was not either imprisoned or banished was probably due to Lord Mountgarret and other powerful friends.
Owing to the severity of the penal laws, he had to seek consecration in Paris, where he was ordained bishop 1 April 1619.
[5] Although seriously ill in 1649, he continued to minister to the plague-stricken citizens of Kilkenny but was compelled by the Cromwellians to leave on 28 March 1650.
[3] As early as 1616, Rothe had published the first part of his Analecta and the completed work was issued at Cologne (1617–19);[2] a new edition was brought out by Cardinal Moran in 1884.