The Congregation elected Vermigli abbot of the monastery at San Pietro ad Aram, Naples in 1537. There he became acquainted with Juan de Valdés, a leader of the "spirituali" movement. Valdés introduced Vermigli to the writings of Protestant reformers. Toward the end of his time in Naples, he read Martin Bucer's commentaries on the Gospels and the Psalms, and Zwingli's "". Reading these works was an act of ecclesiastical defiance, but not an uncommon one in reformist circles. Vermigli seems to have slowly moved in a Protestant direction primarily through study of the Bible and the Church Fathers, especially Augustine. He probably read Protestant literature critically; it was common for those in reform-minded circles to do so while remaining in the Catholic Church. Vermigli embraced the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone during this time, and he had probably rejected the traditional Catholic view of the sacraments. Vermigli also seems to have influenced Valdés. Scholars believe that Valdés's strong doctrine of double predestination, that God has chosen some people for salvation and others for damnation, was learned from Vermigli. Vermigli in turn had acquired it from his study of either Gregory of Rimini or Thomas Aquinas at Padua.