Jean-Baptiste Janssens
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Janssens was the twenty-seventh Superior General of the Society of Jesus
. He was born in Mechelen
, Belgium
.
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, and his university years, where he excelled in philosophy
and classical philology, were spent at St. Aloysius
University Faculty
in Brussels
. He entered the Jesuit novitiate
in Drongen
on 23 September 1907, and took his first vows in September 1909.
After the usual two years of philosophy spent at the Jesuit Theological college in Leuven
he earned his doctorate
in civil law
at the Catholic University of Louvain
. From 1921 to 1923 he attended the Gregorian University
in Rome
where he added a doctorate in Canon law
to the one he had earned at Louvain
.
He taught canon law at the Jesuit Theologate in Leuven from 1923 until 1929 and became its rector
on 17 August 1929. On 15 August 1935 he was appointed Tertian Master
and in 1938 became Provincial
of the Northern Belgian Province of the Jesuits.
In 1939, Father Janssens made an official visit to the Jesuit missions in Zaire
, at the time a colony of Belgium and known as the Belgian Congo
. With the exception of this visitation and his two years studying in Rome, he had spent most of his life in his own province: in Leuven, Drongen (Ghent
), Antwerp, and Brussels. In 1945 he kept in hiding a large group of Jewish children in the very Provincial's residence of Brussels, which earned him the title of Righteous among the nations
.
died in 1942, World War II
was in full fury in Europe
and Father Janssens was the Jesuit Provincial trying to keep his province intact. The Vicar General
, Norbert de Boynes
, was unable to call a General Congregation
because of the war. Thus, in effect, de Boynes was in charge of the governance of the Society for three years.
The war ended in August 1945 and de Boynes was finally able to convene a General Congregation
— the 29th — between 6 September and 23 October 1946. Janssens, as Provincial of his province, went to Rome as a delegate. The Congregation was held under Spartan conditions and many of the necessaries were provided by the delegates from countries less affected by the war than the countries of Europe. On September 15, the 57-year-old Belgian Jean-Baptiste Janssens was elected Father General of the Society Of Jesus.
—southeast of Rome—was purchased as a retreat for the general and his curia
. This property, well known in the area as Villa Cavalletti, became a place of retreat not only for the general and the curia but also for the other Jesuits of Rome. It was also used by professors and students of the Gregorian University who could manage to get away for a few days of peace.
In his famous Instruction on the Social Apostolate (1949), considered a milestone in the Society's road to commitment to the so-called "social question," Father General Janssens challenged the Jesuit educational institutions. In bold language for those days, the general speaks of completely uprooting the spirit of "caste
" among Jesuits and their students. They should not appear "to be allied with the rich and the capitalists
". Those especially who labor in the educational ministry should manifest "an interest and concern for the proletaries
that is equal to, or even greater than, that shown to the rich". One can imagine the impact of these words on the schools. Nevertheless, disaffection toward the colleges remained strong, especially among young Jesuits.
In 1957, after eleven years in office, he summoned the 30th General Congregation to provide him with a vicar general. During the September 6 to November 11 session, the delegates elected Canadian Father John Swain to the position.
In 1960, in a letter to those engaged in education, the general had to confront those who doubted whether the colleges were a ministry proper to the Society or who asserted that they were not in conformity with the spirit of St. Ignatius
.
Father Janssens took important steps for the restructuring of the educational apostolate. Both on the provincial and national levels he set up offices of general Prefects of Studies. In this way there was more coordination among the colleges, both province and nation-wide, as well as closer international collaboration. He appointed visitors of the colleges in various countries and regions, for example, Spain
and Latin America
. National and regional educational associations were encouraged within the Society. Statutes were elaborated to guide the work of the Prefects of Studies. In 1960, the first international meeting of experts in the college apostolate was held in Rome for the purpose of formulating common criteria of inspiration and action. The work of education in the Society was taking on a corporate character.
Pope John XXIII
had convened the Second Vatican Council
to begin in 1962 to deal with many of the same problems that plagued Janssens during his generalate, and with which he found it difficult to cope.
inside and outside the Society. He tried to moderate the problem, but to no avail, since the difficulty was not only within the Society, but also throughout the whole Church. Some observers said it was the massive re-emergence of the systematics of modernism
or neo-modernism, others say it was the problem of general liberalism in society and opposition to hierarchy
in all institutions.
He was the last to see the numbers in the Society top out at 36,000 members. After which high point there was a steady drop for the next thirty years. The turmoil in the Society and in the Church would not go away.
After 18 years and one month as Superior General, Father Janssens died at the age of 75 on 5 October 1964. His body was taken to the Jesuit vault at Campo Verano where are interred most of the Jesuits who die in Rome.
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...
. He was born in Mechelen
Mechelen
Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Early Life and schooling
Janssens' first schooling was in the Diocesan Secondary School in HasseltHasselt
Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...
, and his university years, where he excelled in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and classical philology, were spent at St. Aloysius
Aloysius Gonzaga
- Early life :Aloysius Gonzaga was born at his family's castle in Castiglione delle Stiviere, between Brescia and Mantova in northern Italy in what was then part of the Papal States. He was a member of the illustrious House of Gonzaga...
University Faculty
Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis
The Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis in Brussels, Belgium is a public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. He entered the Jesuit novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
in Drongen
Drongen
Drongen is a submunicipality of the city of Ghent .Drongen is divided into three parishes: Drongen, Luchteren and Baarle....
on 23 September 1907, and took his first vows in September 1909.
After the usual two years of philosophy spent at the Jesuit Theological college in Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
he earned his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
at the Catholic University of Louvain
Université catholique de Louvain
The Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known, especially in Belgium, as UCL, is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve and in Brussels...
. From 1921 to 1923 he attended the Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
where he added a doctorate in Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
to the one he had earned at Louvain
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
.
He taught canon law at the Jesuit Theologate in Leuven from 1923 until 1929 and became its rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
on 17 August 1929. On 15 August 1935 he was appointed Tertian Master
Tertianship
Tertianship is the final formal period of formation in the Society of Jesus. The Provincial usually invites men to begin Tertianship three to five years after finishing Formation or Graduate Studies...
and in 1938 became Provincial
Provincial superior
A Provincial Superior is a major superior of a religious order acting under the order's Superior General and exercising a general supervision over all the members of that order in a territorial division of the order called a province--similar to but not to be confused with an ecclesiastical...
of the Northern Belgian Province of the Jesuits.
In 1939, Father Janssens made an official visit to the Jesuit missions in Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, at the time a colony of Belgium and known as the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
. With the exception of this visitation and his two years studying in Rome, he had spent most of his life in his own province: in Leuven, Drongen (Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
), Antwerp, and Brussels. In 1945 he kept in hiding a large group of Jewish children in the very Provincial's residence of Brussels, which earned him the title of Righteous among the nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
.
Elected Superior General
When Father General LedochowskiWlodimir Ledochowski
Wlodimir Ledóchowski, S.J. was the 26th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus.He was born on the family estate, Sitzenthal, in Loosdorf, near St. Pölten , the son of Count Antoni Halka Ledóchowski...
died in 1942, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was in full fury in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Father Janssens was the Jesuit Provincial trying to keep his province intact. The Vicar General
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
, Norbert de Boynes
Norbert de Boynes
Norbert de Boynes , was Vicar General of the Society Of Jesus from the death of Vicar General Alessio Magni until the election of Jean-Baptiste Janssens at General Congregation XXIX in September 1946.Father General Wlodimir Ledochowski had followed the tradition of leaving a letter naming a...
, was unable to call a General Congregation
General Congregation
The highest authority in the Society of Jesus is the General Congregation, an assembly of the Jesuit representatives from all parts of the world. A general congregation is always summoned on the death or resignation of the administrative head of the order—called the Superior General—to...
because of the war. Thus, in effect, de Boynes was in charge of the governance of the Society for three years.
The war ended in August 1945 and de Boynes was finally able to convene a General Congregation
General Congregation
The highest authority in the Society of Jesus is the General Congregation, an assembly of the Jesuit representatives from all parts of the world. A general congregation is always summoned on the death or resignation of the administrative head of the order—called the Superior General—to...
— the 29th — between 6 September and 23 October 1946. Janssens, as Provincial of his province, went to Rome as a delegate. The Congregation was held under Spartan conditions and many of the necessaries were provided by the delegates from countries less affected by the war than the countries of Europe. On September 15, the 57-year-old Belgian Jean-Baptiste Janssens was elected Father General of the Society Of Jesus.
Generalate
Because of his delicate health and the oppressiveness of the Roman air, a sizeable piece of property in the Alban HillsAlban Hills
The Alban Hills are the site of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio.The dominant peak is Monte Cavo. There are two small calderas which contain lakes, Lago Albano and Lake Nemi...
—southeast of Rome—was purchased as a retreat for the general and his curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
. This property, well known in the area as Villa Cavalletti, became a place of retreat not only for the general and the curia but also for the other Jesuits of Rome. It was also used by professors and students of the Gregorian University who could manage to get away for a few days of peace.
In his famous Instruction on the Social Apostolate (1949), considered a milestone in the Society's road to commitment to the so-called "social question," Father General Janssens challenged the Jesuit educational institutions. In bold language for those days, the general speaks of completely uprooting the spirit of "caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
" among Jesuits and their students. They should not appear "to be allied with the rich and the capitalists
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
". Those especially who labor in the educational ministry should manifest "an interest and concern for the proletaries
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
that is equal to, or even greater than, that shown to the rich". One can imagine the impact of these words on the schools. Nevertheless, disaffection toward the colleges remained strong, especially among young Jesuits.
In 1957, after eleven years in office, he summoned the 30th General Congregation to provide him with a vicar general. During the September 6 to November 11 session, the delegates elected Canadian Father John Swain to the position.
In 1960, in a letter to those engaged in education, the general had to confront those who doubted whether the colleges were a ministry proper to the Society or who asserted that they were not in conformity with the spirit of St. Ignatius
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
.
Father Janssens took important steps for the restructuring of the educational apostolate. Both on the provincial and national levels he set up offices of general Prefects of Studies. In this way there was more coordination among the colleges, both province and nation-wide, as well as closer international collaboration. He appointed visitors of the colleges in various countries and regions, for example, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. National and regional educational associations were encouraged within the Society. Statutes were elaborated to guide the work of the Prefects of Studies. In 1960, the first international meeting of experts in the college apostolate was held in Rome for the purpose of formulating common criteria of inspiration and action. The work of education in the Society was taking on a corporate character.
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
had convened the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
to begin in 1962 to deal with many of the same problems that plagued Janssens during his generalate, and with which he found it difficult to cope.
Final Years
In his final years Janssens had to confront a dissension which was arising among theologiansTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
inside and outside the Society. He tried to moderate the problem, but to no avail, since the difficulty was not only within the Society, but also throughout the whole Church. Some observers said it was the massive re-emergence of the systematics of modernism
Modernism (Roman Catholicism)
Modernism refers to theological opinions expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized by a break with the past. Catholic modernists form an amorphous group. The term "modernist" appears in Pope Pius X's 1907...
or neo-modernism, others say it was the problem of general liberalism in society and opposition to hierarchy
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
in all institutions.
He was the last to see the numbers in the Society top out at 36,000 members. After which high point there was a steady drop for the next thirty years. The turmoil in the Society and in the Church would not go away.
After 18 years and one month as Superior General, Father Janssens died at the age of 75 on 5 October 1964. His body was taken to the Jesuit vault at Campo Verano where are interred most of the Jesuits who die in Rome.