Peter Faber, SJ (French: Pierre Lefevre or Favre, Latin: Petrus Faver) (13 April 1506 – 1 August 1546)[1] was a Savoyard Catholic priest, theologian and co-founder of the Society of Jesus, along with Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier.

Faber was born in 1506 to a peasant family in the village of Villaret, in the Duchy of Savoy (now Saint-Jean-de-Sixt in the French Department of Haute-Savoie).

He was admitted to the Collège Sainte-Barbe, the oldest school in the University of Paris, where he shared his lodgings with Francis Xavier.

[1] There Faber's spiritual views began to develop, influenced by a combination of popular devotion, Christian humanism, and late medieval scholasticism.

"[4] Xavier, Faber, and Loyola all became roommates at the University of Paris and are all recognized by the Jesuits as founders of the Society of Jesus.

[5] Upon graduation, Ignatius returned to Spain for a period of convalescence, after instructing his companions to meet in Venice and charging Faber with conducting them there.

When war between Venice and the Turks prevented them from evangelizing the Holy Land as they planned,[4] they decided to form the community that became the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order.

After Faber spent some months preaching and teaching, the Pope sent him to Parma and Piacenza, where he brought about a revival of Christian piety.

[4] Another Catholic theologian, Johann Cochlaeus, reported that Faber avoided theological debate and emphasized personal reformation, calling him "a master of the life of the affections".

He crisscrossed Europe on foot, guiding bishops, priests, nobles, and common people alike in the Spiritual Exercises.

He was called to preach in the principal cities of Spain, where he aroused fervor among the local populations and fostered vocations to the clergy.

[7] Simão Rodrigues, co-founder of the Jesuit order, wrote that Faber was "endowed with charming grace in dealing with people, which up to now I must confess I have not seen in anyone else.

[4] In 1546, Faber was appointed by Pope Paul III to act as a peritus (expert) on behalf of the Holy See at the Council of Trent.

He is remembered for his travels through Europe promoting Catholic renewal and his great skill in directing the Spiritual Exercises.

[12] Francis gave further thanks for Faber's canonization when he celebrated Mass in Rome on 3 January 2014, at the Church of the Gesù,[13] and made reference to him in a list of Jesuit priests associated with devotion to the Sacred Heart in his 2024 encyclical letter on this subject, Dilexit nos.

[18] The Peter Faber Chapel serves as the central space for the University of Scranton's Retreat Center at Chapman Lake, about 30 minutes north of Scranton, PA. [19] The St. Peter Faber conference room in Loyola Hall at Manresa House of Retreats, Convent, Louisiana, is the location where men on retreat are directed through the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola[20] The School of Business at Australian Catholic University is known as the Peter Faber School of Business.

[21] It was announced in Publishers Weekly on 26 October 2016 that Loyola Press has contracted Jon M. Sweeney, the author of The Pope Who Quit and other historical books, to write a new narrative life of Saint Peter Faber.