Lorenzo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit, elected the 18th 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...

. He was also the last before the suppression of the Jesuits

Suppression of the Jesuits

The Suppression of the Jesuits in the Portuguese Empire, France, the Two Sicilies, Parma and the Spanish Empire by 1767 was a result of a series of political moves rather than a theological controversy. By the brief Dominus ac Redemptor Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus...

 in 1773.

Early Life and career

Ricci was born in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Italy. After the preliminary spiritual training (novitiate at St Andrea, Rome), he did his 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...

 (1722-25) and Theology

Theology

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...

 (1729-34) at the Roman College of Rome. He was meant to be a professor of the Sacred Sciences and specialized in Theology (1740-42). Along with teaching he was also the spiritual guide of many young religious at the Collegio Romano. In fact this quiet and unassuming spiritual work - in particular giving the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, are a set of Christian meditations, prayers and mental exercises, divided into four thematic 'weeks' of variable length, designed to be carried out over a period of 28 to 30 days...

 (a form of guided retreat) - seemed to have had his preference.

Superior General

At the 19th 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...

 Ricci was elected 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...

 at the second ballot. Quite aware of some serious defects in the Society he said during the Congregation: The hatred that the Society is experiencing in some quarters comes partly from the arrogance of the writings of some of ours. The crisis with the Catholic Bourbon royal courts was coming to a head: expulsion from Portugal the year after his election (1758), from France in 1764, from Spain and Naples in 1767, from the Duchy of Parma in 1768. The helpless Ricci saw it all. As long as Clement XIII was pope, the Society was somehow protected in Rome. The Pope gave a new public approval of the Society (the bull Apostolicum Pascendi, of 1769). To Ricci the Pope advised courage, prayer and patience. The spiritually inclined Superior General sent circular letters to the Jesuits on Fervent perseverance in Prayer (1763), On greater fervour in prayer in 1769, and just a few months before the suppression of the Society another one on a New incentive to Prayer (February 1773). Clearly he was not in touch with what was going on. But pressure on the Holy See was increasing and at the conclave called (in 1769) to elect a successor to Clement XIII the Suppression of the Jesuits

Suppression of the Jesuits

The Suppression of the Jesuits in the Portuguese Empire, France, the Two Sicilies, Parma and the Spanish Empire by 1767 was a result of a series of political moves rather than a theological controversy. By the brief Dominus ac Redemptor Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus...

 was the main issue. Clement XIV was elected; it is not clear whether he made a promise to have the Society suppressed. After his election Clement XIV took harsh and humiliating decisions against the Society in order to placate its enemies, but political pressure went on unrelenting and the Pope finally suppressed the order (Dominus ac Redemptor

Dominus ac Redemptor

Dominus ac Redemptor is the papal brief promulgated on 21 July 1773 by which Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus.-Circumstances:...

of 21 July 1773), the main reason being that he wanted to 'restore peace in the Church'.

End and Assessment

Jesuit communities were disbanded, libraries confiscated, properties looted and Ricci put behind bars at the Castel San Angelo, Rome, where he suffered further humiliation and ill treatments (not allowed to celebrate the mass). The charges leveled publicly against the Jesuits were never brought in a court of law: no process of justice was gone through. Before he died Ricci solemnly declared before witnesses: I say and protest that the Society of Jesus did not give any ground warranting its suppression; nor is there any right reason why I should have been put in jail. Giulio Cordara, a close friend of Ricci made probably the best assessment: I would have judged him most competent to guide the Society on a quiet and tranquil sea. But because of his gentle nature I felt he was less equipped to be at the helm amid violent tossing waves (Pastor, History of the Popes, vol.XXXV, p.379). He is buried in the crypt of the Gesù Church

Church of the Gesu

The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named , its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture ,. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit...

in Rome.