Superior General of the Society of Jesus

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 sometimes carries the derogatory nickname of the 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.

Titles

Saint Ignatius of Loyola served as the 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 not of military origin (despite popular misconceptions and Ignatius of Loyola's own military background) 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

"Black Pope" is a designation given to the Superior General 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, 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, and partly because the Superior General is elected for life.

Powers

The Superior General is invested with extraordinary power over the members of the Society, higher than the power given to a bishop over the clergy and lay people of a diocese.

Succession

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.

List of Superiors General

#	Superior General	Image	Took office	Left office	Birthplace	Length of term (in days)
1	Ignatius of Loyola		01541-04-19April 19, 1541	01556-07-31July 31, 1556	Azpeitia, Spain	70035582000000000005,582
2	Laynez, DiegoDiego Laynez		01558-07-02July 2, 1558	01565-01-19January 19, 1565	Almazán, Spain	70032393000000000002,393
3	Borgia, FrancisFrancis Borgia		01565-07-02July 2, 1565	01572-10-01October 1, 1572	Gandia, Spain	70032648000000000002,648
4	Mercurian, EverardEverard Mercurian		01573-04-23April 23, 1573	01580-08-01August 1, 1580	La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium	70032657000000000002,657
5	Acquaviva, ClaudioClaudio Acquaviva		01581-02-19February 19, 1581	01615-01-31January 31, 1615	Atri, Italy	700412399000000000012,399
6	Vitelleschi, MutioMutio Vitelleschi		01615-11-15November 15, 1615	01645-02-09February 9, 1645	Rome, Italy	700410679000000000010,679
7	Carafa, VincenzoVincenzo Carafa		01646-01-07January 7, 1646	01649-06-08June 8, 1649	Naples, Italy	70031248000000000001,248
8	Piccolomini, FrancescoFrancesco Piccolomini		01649-12-21December 21, 1649	01651-06-17June 17, 1651	Siena, Italy	7002543000000000000543
9	Gottifredi, AloysiusAloysius Gottifredi		01652-01-21January 21, 1652	01652-03-12March 12, 1652	Rome, Italy	700151000000000000051
10	Nickel, GoschwinGoschwin Nickel		01652-03-17March 17, 1652	01664-07-31July 31, 1664	Jülich, Germany	70034519000000000004,519
11	Oliva, Giovanni PaoloGiovanni Paolo Oliva		01664-07-31July 31, 1664	01681-11-26November 26, 1681	Genoa, Italy	70036327000000000006,327
12	Noyelle, Charles deCharles de Noyelle		01682-07-05July 5, 1682	01686-12-12December 12, 1686	Brussels, Belgium	70031621000000000001,621
13	Santalla, Thyrsus González deThyrsus González de Santalla		01687-07-06July 6, 1687	01705-10-27October 27, 1705	Arganza, Spain	70036688000000000006,688
14	Tamburini, MichelangeloMichelangelo Tamburini		01706-01-31January 31, 1706	01730-02-28February 28, 1730	Modena, Italy	70038521000000000008,521
15	Retz, FranzFranz Retz		01730-03-07March 7, 1730	01750-11-19November 19, 1750	Prague, Bohemia	70037562000000000007,562
16	Visconti, IgnacioIgnacio Visconti		01751-07-04July 4, 1751	01755-05-04May 4, 1755	Milan, Italy	70031389000000000001,389
17	Centurione, AloysiusAloysius Centurione		01755-11-30November 30, 1755	01757-10-02October 2, 1757	Genoa, Italy	7002672000000000000672
18	Ricci, LorenzoLorenzo Ricci		01758-05-21May 21, 1758	01773-08-16August 16, 1773	Florence, Italy	70035566000000000005,566
--	Czerniewicz, StanislausStanislaus Czerniewicz		01782-10-17October 17, 1782	01785-10-21October 21, 1785	Kaunas, Lithuania	70031100000000000001,100
--	Lenkiewicz, GabrielGabriel Lenkiewicz		01785-10-08October 8, 1785	01798-10-21October 21, 1798	Polotsk, Belarus	70034761000000000004,761
--	Kareu, FranciszekFranciszek Kareu		01799-02-12February 12, 1799	01802-08-11August 11, 1802	Orsha, Belarus	70031275000000000001,275
--	Gruber, GabrielGabriel Gruber		01802-10-22October 22, 1802	01805-04-06April 6, 1805	Vienna, Austria	7002897000000000000897
19	Brzozowski, TadeuszTadeusz Brzozowski		01814-08-07August 7, 1814	01820-02-05February 5, 1820	Königsberg, Prussia	70032008000000000002,008
20	Fortis, LuigiLuigi Fortis		01820-10-18October 18, 1820	01829-01-27January 27, 1829	Verona, Italy	70033023000000000003,023
21	Roothaan, JanJan Roothaan		01829-07-09July 9, 1829	01853-05-08May 8, 1853	Amsterdam, Netherlands	70038704000000000008,704
22	Beckx, Peter JanPeter Jan Beckx		01853-08-02August 2, 1853	01887-03-04March 4, 1887	Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium	700412267000000000012,267
23	Anderledy, AntonAnton Anderledy		01887-03-04March 4, 1887	01892-01-18January 18, 1892	Berisal, Switzerland	70031781000000000001,781
24	Martín, LuisLuis Martín		01892-10-02October 2, 1892	01906-04-18April 18, 1906	Melgar de Fernamental, Spain	70034945000000000004,945
25	Wernz, Franz XavierFranz Xavier Wernz		01906-09-08September 8, 1906	01914-08-20August 20, 1914	Rottweil, Germany	70032903000000000002,903
26	Ledóchowski, WlodimirWlodimir Ledóchowski		01915-02-11February 11, 1915	01942-12-13December 13, 1942	Loosdorf, Austria	700410167000000000010,167
27	Janssens, Jean-BaptisteJean-Baptiste Janssens		01946-09-15September 15, 1946	01964-10-05October 5, 1964	Mechelen, Belgium	70036595000000000006,595
28	Arrupe, PedroPedro Arrupe		01965-05-22May 22, 1965	01983-09-03September 3, 1983	Bilbao, Spain	70036678000000000006,678
29	Kolvenbach, Peter HansPeter Hans Kolvenbach		01983-09-13September 13, 1983	02008-01-14January 14, 2008	Druten, Netherlands	70038889000000000008,889
30	Nicolás, AdolfoAdolfo Nicolás		02008-01-19January 19, 2008	—	Villamuriel de Cerrato, Spain	1,930

Leadership during suppression

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 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:

• Stanislaus Czerniewicz (October 17, 1782–October 21, 1785)
• Gabriel Lenkiewicz (October 8, 1785–October 21, 1798)
• Franciszek Kareu (February 12, 1799–March 7, 1801)

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:

• Franciszek Kareu (March 7, 1801–August 11, 1802)
• Gabriel Gruber (October 22, 1802–April 6, 1805)
• Tadeusz Brzozowski (September 14, 1805–August 7, 1814)

The order was restored on August 7, 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