The superior general of the Society of Jesus is the leader of the Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position sometimes carries the nickname of the Black Pope, because of his responsibility for the largest male religious order, in contrast with the white garb of the pope. The thirty-first and current superior general is Fr Arturo Sosa, elected by the 36th General Congregation on 14 October 2016.[1]
The formal title in Latin is Praepositus Generalis, which may fairly be rendered as "superior general" or even, "president general". The term is like that of military usage (and Ignatius of Loyola had a military background) which is derived from "general", as opposed to "particular". This usage is consistent with other Catholic religious orders, like the Dominicans' "master general", Franciscans' "minister general", Carthusians' "prior general", and with civil posts such as Postmaster General and Attorney General. The Jesuits are organized into provinces, each with a provincial superior, (usually referred to as the "Father Provincial" 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 "Very Reverend".
Black Pope
"Black Pope" is an unofficial designation given to the position of Superior General of the Order of the Jesuits.[2] The name follows from his leadership of the largest Catholic, male religious order[3] and from the colour of the plain black cassock worn by members of the Society, including the Superior General.[4] This may have originated from a past concern (most prominent around the 16th and 17th centuries) among Protestant European countries concerning the relative power of the Jesuits within the Roman Catholic Church, and partly because the Superior General, like the Pope, is elected for life.
Pedro Arrupe
Powers
The Superior General is invested with governing power over all the members of the Society, but customarily leads through Provincial superiors under him. Such power follows from the religious vows that bind members to community life, as in other religious orders.
Succession
Superiors General are elected by the General Congregation of the Society, summoned upon the resignation or death of an incumbent. Superiors General are elected for life and up to recently, as with the Popes, have served life terms. The exceptions being Father Pedro Arrupe (resigned for reasons of failing health) and both his successors, Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach and Father Adolfo Nicolás. On 2 October 2016, General Congregation 36 convened in Rome, convoked by Superior General Nicolás, and it elected Father Arturo Sosa as the thirty-first Superior General.
List of Superiors General
Until the 21st century, it was customary for Superiors General to rule for life. Where they left office before death, the date of death is listed below the date they left office. (Pedro Arrupe resigned in 1983 after a paralyzing stroke.)
Saint Francis Borgia, depicted performing an exorcism, served as the third Superior General.
In 1773, the Jesuits were suppressed by Pope Clement XIV, through the Papal briefDominus ac Redemptor on 21 July 1773, executed 16 August. The leaders of the order, in the nations where the Papal suppression order was not enforced, were known as temporary Vicars General.
On 7 March 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.
^"Jesuit | religious order". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
^"Spaniard becomes Jesuits' new "black pope"". Reuters. 2008-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
External links
The Goa Jesuit Province of the Society of Jesus
January 20, 2023
superior, general, society, jesus, black, pope, redirects, here, other, uses, black, pope, disambiguation, superior, general, society, jesus, leader, society, jesus, catholic, religious, order, also, known, jesuits, generally, addressed, father, general, posit. Black Pope redirects here For other uses see Black Pope disambiguation The superior general of the Society of Jesus is the leader of the Society of Jesus the Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits He is generally addressed as Father General The position sometimes carries the nickname of the Black Pope because of his responsibility for the largest male religious order in contrast with the white garb of the pope The thirty first and current superior general is Fr Arturo Sosa elected by the 36th General Congregation on 14 October 2016 1 Superior General of the Society of JesusPraepositus GeneralisSeal of the Society of JesusIncumbentArturo Sosasince 14 October 2016Formation19 April 1541First holderIgnatius of Loyola Contents 1 Titles 2 Black Pope 3 Powers 4 Succession 5 List of Superiors General 6 Leadership during suppression 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksTitles Edit Ignatius of Loyola first Superior General The formal title in Latin is Praepositus Generalis which may fairly be rendered as superior general or even president general The term is like that of military usage and Ignatius of Loyola had a military background which is derived from general as opposed to particular This usage is consistent with other Catholic religious orders like the Dominicans master general Franciscans minister general Carthusians prior general and with civil posts such as Postmaster General and Attorney General The Jesuits are organized into provinces each with a provincial superior usually referred to as the Father Provincial 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 Very Reverend Black Pope Edit Black Pope is an unofficial designation given to the position of Superior General of the Order of the Jesuits 2 The name follows from his leadership of the largest Catholic male religious order 3 and from the colour of the plain black cassock worn by members of the Society including the Superior General 4 This may have originated from a past concern most prominent around the 16th and 17th centuries among Protestant European countries concerning the relative power of the Jesuits within the Roman Catholic Church and partly because the Superior General like the Pope is elected for life Pedro ArrupePowers EditThe Superior General is invested with governing power over all the members of the Society but customarily leads through Provincial superiors under him Such power follows from the religious vows that bind members to community life as in other religious orders Succession EditSuperiors General are elected by the General Congregation of the Society summoned upon the resignation or death of an incumbent Superiors General are elected for life and up to recently as with the Popes have served life terms The exceptions being Father Pedro Arrupe resigned for reasons of failing health and both his successors Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach and Father Adolfo Nicolas On 2 October 2016 General Congregation 36 convened in Rome convoked by Superior General Nicolas and it elected Father Arturo Sosa as the thirty first Superior General List of Superiors General EditUntil the 21st century it was customary for Superiors General to rule for life Where they left office before death the date of death is listed below the date they left office Pedro Arrupe resigned in 1983 after a paralyzing stroke No Superior General Portrait Took office Left officeDeceased Birthplace a Duration in days 1 Ignatius of Loyola April 19 1541 July 31 1556 Azpeitia Spain 5 5822 Diego Laynez July 2 1558 January 19 1565 Almazan Spain 2 3933 Francis Borgia July 2 1565 October 1 1572 Gandia Spain 2 6484 Everard Mercurian April 23 1573 August 1 1580 La Roche en Ardenne Belgium 2 6575 Claudio Acquaviva February 19 1581 January 31 1615 Atri Italy 12 3996 Mutio Vitelleschi November 15 1615 February 9 1645 Rome Italy 10 6797 Vincenzo Carafa January 7 1646 June 8 1649 Naples Italy 1 2488 Francesco Piccolomini December 21 1649 June 17 1651 Siena Italy 5439 Aloysius Gottifredi January 21 1652 March 12 1652 Rome Italy 5110 Goschwin Nickel March 17 1652 July 31 1664 Julich Germany 4 51911 Giovanni Paolo Oliva July 31 1664 November 26 1681 Genoa Italy 6 32712 Charles de Noyelle July 5 1682 December 12 1686 Brussels Belgium 1 62113 Thyrsus Gonzalez de Santalla July 6 1687 October 27 1705 Arganza Spain 6 68814 Michelangelo Tamburini January 31 1706 February 28 1730 Modena Italy 8 52115 Franz Retz March 7 1730 November 19 1750 Prague Bohemia 7 56216 Ignacio Visconti July 4 1751 May 4 1755 Milan Italy 1 38917 Aloysius Centurione November 30 1755 October 2 1757 Genoa Italy 67218 Lorenzo Ricci May 21 1758 August 16 1773 24 November 177521 July 1773 suppressed Florence Italy 5 566 Stanislaus Czerniewicz b October 17 1782 October 21 1785 Kaunas Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1 100 Gabriel Lenkiewicz b October 8 1785 October 21 1798 Polotsk Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 4 761 Franciszek Kareu c February 12 1799 August 11 1802 Orsha Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1 275 Gabriel Gruber d October 22 1802 April 6 1805 Vienna Austria 89719 Tadeusz Brzozowski e August 7 1814 February 5 1820 Konigsberg Prussia 2 00820 Luigi Fortis October 18 1820 January 27 1829 Verona Italy 3 02321 Jan Roothaan July 9 1829 May 8 1853 Amsterdam Netherlands 8 70422 Peter Jan Beckx August 2 1853 March 4 1887 Scherpenheuvel Zichem Belgium 12 26723 Anton Anderledy March 4 1887 January 18 1892 Berisal Switzerland 1 78124 Luis Martin October 2 1892 April 18 1906 Melgar de Fernamental Spain 4 94525 Franz Xavier Wernz September 8 1906 August 20 1914 Rottweil Germany 2 90326 Wlodimir Ledochowski February 11 1915 December 13 1942 Loosdorf Austria 10 16727 Jean Baptiste Janssens September 15 1946 October 5 1964 Mechelen Belgium 6 59528 Pedro Arrupe May 22 1965 September 3 1983 5 February 1991 Bilbao Spain 6 67829 Peter Hans Kolvenbach September 13 1983 January 14 2008 26 November 2016 Druten Netherlands 8 88930 Adolfo Nicolas January 19 2008 October 3 2016 20 May 2020 Villamuriel de Cerrato Spain 3 16931 Arturo Sosa October 14 2016 Incumbent Caracas Venezuela 2 286Leadership during suppression Edit Saint Francis Borgia depicted performing an exorcism served as the third Superior General In 1773 the Jesuits were suppressed by Pope Clement XIV through the Papal brief Dominus ac Redemptor on 21 July 1773 executed 16 August 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 Stanislaus Czerniewicz 17 October 1782 21 October 1785 Gabriel Lenkiewicz 8 October 1785 21 October 1798 Franciszek Kareu 12 February 1799 7 March 1801 On 7 March 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 Franciszek Kareu 7 March 1801 11 August 1802 Gabriel Gruber 22 October 1802 6 April 1805 Tadeusz Brzozowski 14 September 1805 7 August 1814 The order was restored on 7 August 1814 by Pope Pius VII through the papal bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum See also EditAdmonitor Jesuits Notes Edit Lists the present day name and nationality of the city in question a b Vicar General Vicar General until 7 March 1801 Superior General for Russia thereafter Superior General for Russia only Superior General for Russia only from 14 September 1805 to 7 August 1814 References Edit Jesuits elect first Latin American general Crux 2016 10 14 Retrieved 2017 05 30 commandprompt6 1993 A view from Rome on the eve of the modernist crisis Fordham University Press p Back cover ISBN 0823213595 Jesuit religious order Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 2017 05 30 Spaniard becomes Jesuits new black pope Reuters 2008 01 19 Retrieved 2022 01 19 External links EditThe Goa Jesuit Province of the Society of Jesus New York Jesuit Province History Page on the Suppression Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Superior General of the Society of Jesus amp oldid 1119889963, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
