| Society of Jesus | |
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History of the Jesuits |
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The Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official title of the leader of the Society of Jesus—the Roman Catholic religious order, also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's vestments, as contrasted to the white garb of the Pope. The current Superior General is the Reverend Father Adolfo Nicolás.
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The formal title in Latin is Praepositus Generalis, which may fairly be rendered as "superior general" or even, "president general". The term is not of military origin, despite popular misconceptions, but is derived from "general", as opposed to "particular" (as with many other Catholic religious orders, like the Dominicans' "master general", Franciscans' "minister general", Carthusians' "prior general", etc. and many civil posts, such as Postmaster General, Attorney General and Receiver General). The Jesuits are organized into provinces, each with a provincial superior, (usually referred to as the "Provincial Father" or just "Provincial"), with the head of the order being the "general superior", for the whole organization. As a major superior, the Superior General is styled "The Very Reverend".
"Black Pope" is a nickname given to the Superior General,[1] usually by the media (and never used by the Jesuits themselves). The name comes partly from the color of the plain black priest's cassock, worn by members of the Society, including the Superior General and partly from a past concern (most prominent around the 16th and 17th centuries) amongst Protestant European countries concerning the relative power of the Jesuits within the Roman Catholic Church.
The Superior General is invested with extraordinary power over the members of the Society, higher to the power given to a bishop over the people of a diocese.
Superiors General are elected by the General Congregation of the Society, summoned upon the resignation, retirement or death of an incumbent. Superiors General are elected for life and almost all have served life terms, the exceptions being Father Pedro Arrupe (resigned for reasons of failing health) and his successor, Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach. Kolvenbach's resignation was announced in February 2006, which led to the convocation of the 35th General Congregation. That General Congregation elected the current Superior General of the Society, Father Adolfo Nicolás, who succeeded Kolvenbach.[2]
| # | Superior General | Image | Took office | Left office | Birthplace[3] | Length of term (in days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ignatius of Loyola | April 19, 1541 | July 31, 1556 | Azpeitia, Spain | 5,582 | |
| 2 | Diego Laynez | July 2, 1558 | January 19, 1565 | Almazán, Spain | 2,393 | |
| 3 | Francis Borgia | July 2, 1565 | October 1, 1572 | Gandia, Spain | 2,648 | |
| 4 | Everard Mercurian | April 23, 1573 | August 1, 1580 | La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium | 2,657 | |
| 5 | Claudio Acquaviva | February 19, 1581 | January 31, 1615 | Atri, Italy | 12,399 | |
| 6 | Mutio Vitelleschi | November 15, 1615 | February 9, 1645 | Rome, Italy | 10,679 | |
| 7 | Vincenzo Carafa | January 7, 1646 | June 8, 1649 | Naples, Italy | 1,248 | |
| 8 | Francesco Piccolomini | December 21, 1649 | June 17, 1651 | Siena, Italy | 543 | |
| 9 | Aloysius Gottifredi | January 21, 1652 | March 12, 1652 | Rome, Italy | 51 | |
| 10 | Goschwin Nickel | March 17, 1652 | July 31, 1664 | Jülich, Germany | 4,519 | |
| 11 | Giovanni Paolo Oliva | July 31, 1664 | November 26, 1681 | Genoa, Italy | 6,327 | |
| 12 | Charles de Noyelle | July 5, 1682 | December 12, 1686 | Brussels, Belgium | 1,621 | |
| 13 | Thyrsus González de Santalla | July 6, 1687 | October 27, 1705 | Arganza, Spain | 6,688 | |
| 14 | Michelangelo Tamburini | January 31, 1706 | February 28, 1730 | Modena, Italy | 8,521 | |
| 15 | Franz Retz | March 7, 1730 | November 19, 1750 | Prague, Bohemia | 7,562 | |
| 16 | Ignacio Visconti | July 4, 1751 | May 4, 1755 | Milan, Italy | 1,389 | |
| 17 | Aloysius Centurione | November 30, 1755 | October 2, 1757 | Genoa, Italy | 672 | |
| 18 | Lorenzo Ricci | May 21, 1758 | August 16, 1773 | Florence, Italy | 5,566 | |
| -- | Stanislaus Czerniewicz[4] | October 17, 1782 | October 21, 1785 | Kaunas, Lithuania | 1,100 | |
| -- | Gabriel Lenkiewicz[4] | October 8, 1785 | October 21, 1798 | Polotsk, Belarus | 4,761 | |
| -- | Franciszek Kareu[5] | February 12, 1799 | August 11, 1802 | Orsha, Belarus | 1,275 | |
| -- | Gabriel Gruber[6] | October 22, 1802 | April 6, 1805 | Vienna, Austria | 897 | |
| 19 | Tadeusz Brzozowski[7] | August 7, 1814 | February 5, 1820 | Königsberg, Prussia | 2,008 | |
| 20 | Luigi Fortis | October 18, 1820 | January 27, 1829 | Verona, Italy | 3,023 | |
| 21 | Jan Roothaan | July 9, 1829 | May 8, 1853 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 8,704 | |
| 22 | Peter Jan Beckx | August 2, 1853 | March 4, 1887 | Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium | 12,267 | |
| 23 | Anton Anderledy | March 4, 1887 | January 18, 1892 | Berisal, Switzerland | 1,781 | |
| 24 | Luis Martín | October 2, 1892 | April 18, 1906 | Melgar de Fernamental, Spain | 4,945 | |
| 25 | Franz Xavier Wernz | September 8, 1906 | August 20, 1914 | Rottweil, Germany | 2,903 | |
| 26 | Wlodimir Ledochowski | February 11, 1915 | December 13, 1942 | Loosdorf, Austria | 10,167 | |
| 27 | Jean-Baptiste Janssens | September 15, 1946 | October 5, 1964 | Mechelen, Belgium | 6,595 | |
| 28 | Pedro Arrupe | May 22, 1965 | September 3, 1983 | Bilbao, Spain | 6,678 | |
| 29 | Peter Hans Kolvenbach | September 13, 1983 | January 14, 2008 | Druten, Netherlands | 8,889 | |
| 30 | Adolfo Nicolás | January 19, 2008 | — | Villamuriel de Cerrato, Spain | 1,481 |
In 1773, the Jesuits were suppressed by Pope Clement XIV, through the Papal brief Dominus ac Redemptor on July 21, 1773, executed August 16. The leaders of the order, in the nations where the Papal suppression order was not enforced, were known as temporary Vicars General.
The temporary Vicars General were:
On March 7, 1801, Pope Pius VII issued the brief Catholicae fidei, giving approval to the existence of the Society in Russia and allowing the Society there to elect a Superior General for Russia. This was the first step to the Society's eventual restoration.
The Superiors General in Russia were:
The order was restored on August 7, 1814, by Pope Pius VII, through the papal bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum.