Menno Simons (1496-1561) was a Cath­olic priest from Friesland in what is now the Netherlands, but in his time was ruled by Spain. He was born in a town called Witmarsum, while his peasant father owned and farmed land in neighbouring Pingjum. His education was poor; while he was taught Latin and some Greek and the Latin Fathers, he had not read the Bible when ordained in 1515.

Assigned to the church in Pingjum as curate in 1524, he was not unaffected by the furore that Luther and his fellows aroused. Searching the Scriptures himself in 1526-27, Fr Simons decided that there was no biblical warrant for the Real Presence. Nevertheless, he did not then officially break with the Church.