Ignatius of Jesus

Father
Ignatius of Jesus
Ignàzio di Gesù
Born1596 (1596)
Died21 February 1667(1667-02-21) (aged 70–71)
OccupationsFriar and missionary
Years active1629–1664
Known forWritings on Mandaeism and the Persian language
ReligionChristianity
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
Ordained27 February 1623
Writings
  • Narratio originis, rituum, & errorum christianorum Sancti Ioannis (1652)
  • Grammatica linguae persicae (1661)

Ignatius of Jesus (Italian: Ignàzio di Gesù, born Carlo Leonelli; 1596, Sorbolongo, Pesaro – 21 February 1667, Rome) was an Italian Roman Catholic friar of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites who served as a missionary in Persia, Basra, and Lebanon for 35 years. He is best known for writing the first Western scholarly work on Mandaeism, Narratio originis, rituum, & errorum christianorum Sancti Ioannis ("Narration of the Origin, the Rituals, and the Errors of the Christians of St. John") (1652).