Giovanni Paolo Oliva was an Italian Jesuit priest, elected 11th Superior General of the Society of Jesus

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 carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's...

.

Oliva was born at Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 in 1600, and in 1616, he entered the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

. A famous pulpit orator, he was Apostolic Preacher of the Palace under Popes Innocent X

Pope Innocent X

Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...

, Alexander VII

Pope Alexander VII

Pope Alexander VII , born Fabio Chigi, was Pope from 7 April 1655, until his death.- Early life :Born in Siena, a member of the illustrious banking family of Chigi and a great-nephew of Pope Paul V , he was privately tutored and eventually received doctorates of philosophy, law, and theology from...

, Clement IX

Pope Clement IX

Pope Clement IX , born Giulio Rospigliosi, was Pope from 1667 to 1669.-Early life:Born Giulio Rospigliosi to a noble family of Pistoia, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, he was a pupil of the Jesuits. After receiving his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Pisa, he taught theology there...

, and Clement X

Pope Clement X

Pope Clement X , born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was Pope from 29 April 1670 to 22 July 1676.-Early life:Emilio Altieri was born in Rome, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delphini, a Venetian lady...

. In 1661, during the critical period of the Superior General Goschwin Nickel

Goschwin Nickel

Goswin Nickel was a German Jesuit priest, elected the 10th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus....

, the General Congregation XI elected him vicar-general with the right of succession. His chief aim was to remove all causes of dissension and of personal friction between his institute and other religious orders, towards which he showed himself most reverent and yielding. He extended and increased the missions, creating new ones outside of Europe, especially in Japan.

His book of forty-odd sermons for Lent

Lent

In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...

, and his work of six folio volumes, In Selecta Scripturæ Loca Ethicæ Commentationes, demonstrate his scholarship and piety. Remembering what had happened to Cardinal Palavicino, Oliva printed one thousand of his letters, in order that they might not be printed by others and be misconstrued. He died at Rome, at Sant'Andrea al Quirinale

Sant'Andrea al Quirinale

The Church of Saint Andrew's at the Quirinal is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, built for of the Jesuit seminary on the Quirinal Hill....

in 1681.