Superior general of the Society of Jesus

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.

Titles

File:Ignatius Loyola.jpg

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

"Black Pope" is an unofficial designation given to the position of Superior General of the Order of the Jesuits. The name follows from his leadership of the largest Catholic, male religious order and from the colour of the plain black cassock worn by members of the Society, including the Superior General. 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.

File:Pedro Arrupe, S.J., memorial - University of San Francisco - San Francisco, CA - DSC02663.JPG

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.)

No.	Superior General	Portrait	Took office	Left office Deceased	BirthplaceTemplate:Efn	Duration (in days)
1	Ignatius of Loyola	File:Ignatius von Loyola.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Azpeitia, Spain	Template:Nts
2		File:Portret van de jezuïet Jacobus Laynez Portretten van generaal oversten van de jezuïeten (serietitel) Effigies præpositorvm generalivm societatis Iesv (serietitel), RP-P-1910-4016.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Almazán, Spain	Template:Nts
3		File:Portret van de jezuïet Franciscus Borgia Portretten van generaal oversten van de jezuïeten (serietitel) Effigies præpositorvm generalivm societatis Iesv (serietitel), RP-P-1913-2512.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Gandia, Spain	Template:Nts
4		File:Portret van de jezuïet Everardus Mercurianus Portretten van generaal oversten van de jezuïeten (serietitel) Effigies præpositorvm generalivm societatis Iesv (serietitel), RP-P-1907-3912.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium	Template:Nts
5		File:Portret van de jezuïet Claudius Aquaviva Portretten van generaal oversten van de jezuïeten (serietitel) Effigies præpositorvm generalivm societatis Iesv (serietitel), RP-P-1909-1354.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Atri, Italy	Template:Nts
6		File:Mutio Vitelleschi - Ordensgeneral der Jesuiten.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Rome, Italy	Template:Nts
7		File:Ritratti de prepositi generali della Compagnia di Gesù-Carafa.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Naples, Italy	Template:Nts
8		File:Ritratti de prepositi generali della Compagnia di Gesù-piccolomini.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Siena, Italy	Template:Nts
9		File:AlexanderGottifredi.png	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Rome, Italy	Template:Nts
10		File:Goswin Nickel.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Jülich, Germany	Template:Nts
11		File:Giovanni Paolo Oliva.png	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Genoa, Italy	Template:Nts
12		File:CharlesNoyelle.JPG	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Brussels, Belgium	Template:Nts
13		File:Thyrsus González - Ordensgeneral der Jesuiten.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Arganza, Spain	Template:Nts
14		File:MTamburini.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Modena, Italy	Template:Nts
15		File:FRetz.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Prague, Bohemia	Template:Nts
16		File:IVisconti.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Milan, Italy	Template:Nts
17		File:ACenturione.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Genoa, Italy	Template:Nts
18		File:LRicci.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts 24 November 1775 21 July 1773 (suppressed)	Florence, Italy	Template:Nts
—	Template:Efn	File:Stanislaus Czerniewicz, SJ.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Kaunas, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	Template:Nts
—	Template:Efn		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Polotsk, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	Template:Nts
—	Template:Efn	File:Franciszek Kareu (1731-1802).jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Orsha, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	Template:Nts
—	Template:Efn	File:Gabriel Gruber.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Vienna, Austria	Template:Nts
19	Template:Efn	File:T.Brzozowski.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Königsberg, Prussia	Template:Nts
20		File:Fortis.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Verona, Italy	Template:Nts
21		File:Jean-Philippe Roothaan (1785-1853)b.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Template:Nts
22		File:Pierre-Jean Beckx (22ème Général des Jésuites).jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium	Template:Nts
23		File:Anderledy.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Berisal, Switzerland	Template:Nts
24		File:Gemälde - Luis Martin SJ.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Melgar de Fernamental, Spain	Template:Nts
25		File:Gemälde - Franz Xaver Wernz SJ.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Rottweil, Germany	Template:Nts
26		File:Ledochowski.tif	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Loosdorf, Austria	Template:Nts
27		File:Jean-Baptiste Janssens (1889-1964).jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Mechelen, Belgium	Template:Nts
28		File:Bilbao - Universidad de Deusto, Monumento a Pedro Arrupe.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts 5 February 1991	Bilbao, Spain	Template:Nts
29		File:KolvenbachCut.png	Template:Dts	Template:Dts 26 November 2016	Druten, Netherlands	Template:Nts
30		File:AdolfoNicolas.jpg	Template:Dts	Template:Dts 20 May 2020	Villamuriel de Cerrato, Spain	Template:Nts
31		File:Arturo Sosa in January 2017.jpg	Template:Dts	Incumbent	Caracas, Venezuela	Template:Nts

Leadership during suppression

File:St. Francis Borgia Helping a Dying Impenitent by Goya.jpg

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

• Admonitor (Jesuits)

External links

• The Goa Jesuit Province of the Society of Jesus
• New York Jesuit Province History Page on the Suppression