“Superior General of the Society of Jesus”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

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 which is 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 Catholic, male religious order and is contrasted to the white garb of the pope. The thirty-first and current Superior General is the Reverend Father Arturo Sosa, elected by the 36th General Congregation on October 14, 2016.^[1]

Titles

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". 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 "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 "Very Reverend".

Black Pope

"Black Pope" is a designation given to the Superior General.^[2] The name follows from his leadership of the largest Catholic, male religious order^[3] and from the color 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) amongst 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.

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 October 2, 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 Superior Generals 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.)

Superior General

Image

Took office

Left office
Deceased

Lists the present-day name and nationality of the city in question.

Length of term (in days)

Ignatius of Loyola

1541|4|19}}

1556|7|31}}

Azpeitia, Spain

5582}}

Diego|Laynez}}

1558|7|2}}

1565|1|19}}

Almazán, Spain

2393}}

Francis|Borgia|Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía}}

1565|7|2}}

1572|10|1}}

Gandia, Spain

2648}}

Everard|Mercurian}}

1573|4|23}}

1580|8|1}}

La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium

2657}}

Claudio|Acquaviva}}

1581|2|19}}

1615|1|31}}

Atri, Italy

12399}}

Mutio|Vitelleschi}}

1615|11|15}}

1645|2|9}}

Rome, Italy

10679}}

Vincenzo|Carafa}}

1646|1|7}}

1649|6|8}}

Naples, Italy

1248}}

Francesco|Piccolomini|dab=Jesuit}}

1649|12|21}}

1651|6|17}}

Siena, Italy

543}}

Aloysius|Gottifredi}}

1652|1|21}}

1652|3|12}}

Rome, Italy

51}}

Goschwin|Nickel}}

1652|3|17}}

1664|7|31}}

Jülich, Germany

4519}}

Giovanni Paolo|Oliva}}

1664|7|31}}

1681|11|26}}

Genoa, Italy

6327}}

Charles de|Noyelle}}

1682|7|5}}

1686|12|12}}

Brussels, Belgium

1621}}

Thyrsus González de|Santalla}}

1687|7|6}}

1705|10|27}}

Arganza, Spain

6688}}

Michelangelo|Tamburini}}

1706|1|31}}

1730|2|28}}

Modena, Italy

8521}}

Franz|Retz}}

1730|3|7}}

1750|11|19}}

Prague, Bohemia

7562}}

Ignacio|Visconti}}

1751|7|4}}

1755|5|4}}

Milan, Italy

1389}}

Aloysius|Centurione}}

1755|11|30}}

1757|10|2}}

Genoa, Italy

672}}

Lorenzo|Ricci}}

1758|5|21}}

1773|8|16}}
November 24, 1775
Suppression 1773

Florence, Italy

5566}}

Stanislaus|Czerniewicz}}{{efn|name=vg|Vicar General}}

1782|10|17}}

1785|10|21}}

Kaunas, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

1100}}

Gabriel|Lenkiewicz}}{{efn|name=vg}}

1785|10|8}}

1798|10|21}}

Polotsk, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

4761}}

Franciszek|Kareu}}{{efn|Vicar General until March 7, 1801, Superior General for Russia thereafter.}}

1799|2|12}}

1802|8|11}}

Orsha, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

1275}}

Gabriel|Gruber}}{{efn|Superior General for Russia only.}}

1802|10|22}}

1805|4|6}}

Vienna, Austria

897}}

Tadeusz|Brzozowski}}{{efn|Superior General for Russia only from September 14, 1805 to August 7, 1814.}}

1814|8|7}}

1820|2|5}}

Königsberg, Prussia

2008}}

Luigi|Fortis}}

1820|10|18}}

1829|1|27}}

Verona, Italy

3023}}

Jan|Roothaan}}

1829|7|9}}

1853|5|8}}

Amsterdam, Netherlands

8704}}

Peter Jan|Beckx}}

1853|8|2}}

1887|3|4}}

Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium

12267}}

Anton|Anderledy}}

1887|3|4}}

1892|1|18}}

Berisal, Switzerland

1781}}

Luis|Martín}}

1892|10|2}}

1906|4|18}}

Melgar de Fernamental, Spain

4945}}

Franz Xavier|Wernz}}

1906|9|8}}

1914|8|20}}

Rottweil, Germany

2903}}

Wlodimir|Ledóchowski}}

1915|2|11}}

1942|12|13}}

Loosdorf, Austria

10167}}

Jean-Baptiste|Janssens}}

1946|9|15}}

1964|10|5}}

Mechelen, Belgium

6595}}

Pedro|Arrupe}}

1965|5|22}}

1983|9|3}}
February 5, 1991

Bilbao, Spain

6678}}

Peter Hans|Kolvenbach}}

1983|9|13}}

2008|1|14}}
November 26, 2016

Druten, Netherlands

8889}}

Adolfo|Nicolás}}

2008|1|19}}

2016|10|03}}
Living

Villamuriel de Cerrato, Spain

3169}}

Arturo|Sosa}}

2016|10|14}}

Incumbent

Caracas, Venezuela

2016|10|14}}

Leadership during suppression

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.

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 order was restored on August 7, 1814, by Pope Pius VII, through the papal bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum.

Titles

Black Pope

Powers

Succession

List of Superiors General

Leadership during suppression

See also

Notes

References

External links