Giacinto Achilli

Born around 1803, Giovanni Giacinto Achilli was an Italian Dominican friar and priest whose life took a dramatic turn after disputes with church authorities. Accounts agree that he was imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition and later left Italy, eventually becoming an outspoken evangelical Protestant voice in Britain.

In England, he gained attention as a lecturer and polemicist, especially for his attacks on Roman Catholicism and the Jesuits. He entered the wider public record through the well-known Achilli v. Newman libel case, in which John Henry Newman was found liable for repeating accusations about Achilli's past.

Achilli died around 1860. His story still attracts interest because it sits at the crossroads of religion, scandal, and the fierce sectarian arguments of Victorian Europe.