1540-53.
HIERARCHY.
The government of the Company of Jesus is purely monarchical, and the
General is its absolute and uncontrollable king.
The members of the Society are divided into four classes,—the Professed,
Coadjutors, Scholars, and Novices. There is also a secret fifth class,
known only to the General and a few faithful Jesuits, which, perhaps more
than any other, contributes to the dreaded and mysterious power of the
order. It is composed of laymen of all ranks, from the minister to the
humble shoe-boy. Among the individuals composing this class are to be
found many ladies, who, unknown and unsuspected, are more dangerous in
themselves, and more accurate spies to the Company. These are affiliated
to the Society, but not bound by any vows. The Society, as a noble and
avowed reward, promises to them forgiveness for all their sins, and
eternal blessedness, and, as a more palpable mark of gratitude, protects
them, patronises them, and, in countries where the Jesuits are powerful,
procures for them comfortable and lucrative places under government, or
elsewhere. If this is not sufficient, they are paid for their services
in hard cash, according to an article of the Constitution, which
empowers the General to spend money on _persons who will make themselves
useful_. In return for these favours, they act as the spies of the
order, the reporters of what goes on in those classes of society with
which the Jesuit cannot mix, and serve, often unwittingly, as the tools
and accomplices in dark and mysterious crimes. Father Francis Pellico,
brother to the famous Silvio, in his recent quarrel with the celebrated
Gioberti, to prove that the order is not so very deficient of supporters
as his opponent asserts, candidly confesses that “the many illustrious
friends of the Society, prelates, orators, learned and distinguished men
of every description, the supporters of the Society, remain _occult,
and obliged to be silent_.”[40] This avowal, coming from the mouth of a
Jesuit, must be specially noted. Now, reversing the order of the classes,
we shall begin by describing
I. THE NOVICES.
We have already seen the process a candidate must go through before being
admitted into the House of First Probation. After undergoing a still
more searching scrutiny there, he passes to the House of Noviciate. The
noviciate lasts two years, and may be shortened or prolonged at the
General’s pleasure. There are six principal exercises by which the Novice
is tried; they are as follows:—
“1. The Novices are to devote a month to the spiritual exercises,
self-examination, confession of sins, and meditation, and to a
contemplation of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
“2. They are to serve for another month in one or more of the hospitals,
by ministering to the sick, in proof of increasing humility and entire
renunciation of the pomps and vanities of the world.
“3. They must wander during a third month without money, begging from
door to door, that they may be accustomed to inconvenience in eating and
sleeping, or else they may serve in an hospital for another month, at the
discretion of the Superior.
“4. They must submit to be employed in the most servile offices of the
house into which they have entered, for the sake of shewing a good
example in all things.
“5. They are to give instruction in Christian learning to boys, or to
their untaught elders, either publicly, privately, or as occasion may be
offered.
“6. When sufficient proof has been given of improvement in probation, the
Novice may proceed to preach, to hear confessions, or to any exercise in
which circumstances may direct him to engage.”[41]
“While a Jesuit is thus fulfilling the several trials of his fitness, he
may not presume to say that he is one of the Society.[42] He must only
describe himself as wishing to be admitted into it; _indifferent_ to the
station which may be assigned to him, and waiting in patient expectation
until it be determined how his services may be most advantageously
employed.”
At the expiry of the _biennium_, if he has gone through all his trials
satisfactorily, he takes the vows, of which the following is the formula:—
“Almighty, everlasting God, I, N., albeit every way most unworthy in
Thy holy sight, yet relying on Thine infinite pity and compassion, and
impelled by the desire of serving Thee, in the presence of the most
holy Virgin Mary, and before all Thine heavenly host, vow to Thy divine
Majesty perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Society of
Jesus, and promise that I will enter the same Society, to live in it
perpetually, _understanding all things according to the Constitutions of
the Society_. Of Thy boundless goodness and mercy, through the blood of
Jesus Christ, I humbly pray that Thou wilt deign to accept this sacrifice
in the odour of sweetness, and, as Thou hast granted Thine abundant grace
to desire and offer, so Thou wilt enable me to fulfil the same. At Rome,
or elsewhere, in such a place, day, month, and year.”
“Then shall they take, as the others, the most holy body of Christ, and
the rest of the ceremony shall proceed as before.”[43]
After the Novice has taken the vows, he must remain in an undeterminate
state until the General has decided in what capacity he can best serve
the Society. To this he must be wholly indifferent, and on no account
endeavour to obtain, either directly or indirectly, any particular
employment, but must await in silence the General’s decision.
Those are the written precepts; but the sly and abominable acts to
which the Jesuits resort in order to model the man to the standard of
the Society, are numerous, and differ according to circumstances and to
the character of the Novice. But, in all cases, before the _biennium_
is elapsed, either the man is dismissed, or he has lost all ideas, all
hopes, all desires of a personal nature; he is a man without will,
submitting blindly to obey any order, and devoting soul and body to the
aggrandizement of the Society.
II. THE SCHOLARS.
To promote the objects of their Society, the Jesuits rely in a great
measure upon the talent and learning of its members. Hence their decided
preference for candidates with superior mental endowments, and their
assiduous attention to the prosperity and good management of their
colleges and universities, which were at one time the best regulated and
most efficient in Europe. Their judicious arrangement of the studies,
their admirable superintendence, their exemplary discipline, their many
inducements to application, rendered the Jesuit colleges the resort of
all those who aspired to eminence in the literary or learned world.
The greatest men in all the Catholic countries of Europe during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were educated by the Jesuits.
All the property bequeathed or given to the Society is made over to
the colleges and universities, which, however, have not the power of
administering it. In these colleges are trained the _Scholars_, of
whom there are two sorts—the _Received_ and the APPROVED. The former
are candidates for membership, who are being tried for their skill in
learning previous to entering upon the noviciate; the latter are those
who have completed their noviciate, and taken the vows. Every Novice and
Scholar aspires to enter the class of the Coadjutors, or that of the
Professed, in which two classes reside all the power and authority of the
order. The vows of the Scholars are the same as those of the Novices.
III. COADJUTORS.
The third class of Jesuits consists of Temporal and Spiritual Coadjutors.
The Temporal Coadjutors, however learned they may be, are never admitted
to holy orders. They are the porters, cooks, stewards, and agents of
the Society. The Spiritual Coadjutors are priests, and must be men of
considerable learning, in order that they may be qualified to hear
confessions, to teach, preach, &c. The rectors of the colleges, and the
superiors of the religious houses, are appointed from this class. They
are sometimes permitted to assist in the deliberations of the general
congregation, but have no voice in the election of the General.
Besides undergoing the first probation, and the noviciate, the Coadjutors
must submit to a third year of trial, in order to afford a stronger
proof of their aptitude. It is here worthy of remark, that in the case
of a porter or a cook, there is required a year of trial more than is
thought necessary to qualify the scholar who is to preach, and teach
the Catechism. The porters and cooks must know something of worldly
business, and, consequently, there is the greater need that they should
be faithful and trustworthy. Here is the formula of the vow taken by the
Coadjutors:—“I, N., promise Almighty God, before His Virgin Mother, and
before all the heavenly host, and you, reverend father, General of the
Society of Jesus, _holding the place of God_, and of your successors;
or you, reverend father, Vice-General of the Society of Jesus, and of
his successors, _holding the place of God_, perpetual poverty, chastity,
and obedience, and therein, _peculiar care in the education of boys_,
according to the manner expressed in the Apostolical Letters, and in
the Constitutions of the said Society. At Rome, or elsewhere, in such a
place, day, month, and year.
“Then let him take the most holy body of Christ; and let the rest of the
ceremony be the same as in the case of the Professed.”[44] The clause,
“_peculiar care in the education of boys_,” is omitted in the vow when
taken by the Temporal Coadjutors.
IV. THE PROFESSED.
This fourth class, the first in order of power and dignity, may be said
to constitute, alone, the Society. The probation required for it is
longer and more rigorous than that of any of the other classes. _Two_
additional years of trial must be endured, in order to gain admission
into it. This is partly to prevent the class becoming too numerous.
The Professed must, in terms of the Constitutions, be priests, above
twenty-five years of age, eminent in learning and virtue. In addition
to their acquirements in literature and philosophy, they must devote
four years specially to the study of theology. Their admission is the
immediate act of the General, who seldom delegates his power for that
purpose, as he generally does for admitting to the other classes.
_Solemn_ vows are taken by this class only; those of the other classes
are designated merely as _simple_ vows. Besides the three ordinary vows
of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the Professed take a fourth—to obey
the Holy See, and to go, as missionaries, into whatever part of the world
the Pope _pro tempore_ chooses to send them. My readers will remember,
that it was this fourth vow which overcame the crafty Pope Paul’s
objections to sanction the order. But this pontiff, with all his cunning,
was no match for Loyola, who quite nullified this vow by the formula in
which he embodied it. According to this formula, the vow is made only in
accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. Now, the Constitution
enacts, “that the General shall have all power over every individual of
the Society, to send any one on a mission, to recall missionaries, and to
proceed in all things as he thinks will be best for the greater glory of
God.”[45] Thus, obedience to the Pope depends entirely on the will and
pleasure of the General. Hence the General’s preponderating influence
with the Court of Rome.
The ceremony of taking the vows of the Professed is more solemn than that
of the others. It must take place in the church, which with the others
is not imperative. “First of all, the General, or some one empowered by
him to admit to Profession, when he has offered the sacrifice of the
public Mass in the church, before inmates and others there present, shall
turn to the person who is about to make profession with the most holy
sacrament of the Eucharist; and he, after the general confession and the
words which are used before the communion, shall, with a loud voice,
pronounce his written vow (which it is meet that he should have meditated
on for several days), whereof this is the form:—
“I, N., make profession, and promise Almighty God, before His Virgin
Mother, and before all the heavenly host, and before all bystanders, and
you, reverend father, General of the Society of Jesus, _holding the place
of God_, and your successors; or you, reverend father, Vice-General of
the Society of Jesus, and of his successors, _holding the place of God_,
perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience, and therein _peculiar care
in the education of boys_, according to the form of living contained in
the Apostolic Letters of the Society of Jesus, and in its Constitutions.
Moreover, I promise special obedience to the Pope in missions, as is
contained in the same Apostolic Letters and Constitutions. At Rome or
elsewhere, on such a day, month, and year, and in such a church.
“After this, let him take the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist.
Which being done, the name of him who makes profession shall be written
in a book which the Society shall keep for that purpose; the name of
the person to whom he made it—the day, month, and year, being also set
down; and his written vows shall be preserved, that an account of all the
particulars may appear for ever, to the glory of God.”[46]
It is this class, and that of the Coadjutors, who are wont to live by
alms, and who, for appearance’ sake, sometimes go begging from door to
door—(this is the case in Italy, at least). But, either from pride or
roguery, they never ask, in our day, anything in their own name, but
always in the name of the poor, the hospitals, and the prisoners, and
thus they win for their order the veneration of the credulous and the
ignorant.
To the Professed alone are confided the missions, and the management of
the more important affairs of the order, into the secrets of which they
are admitted farther than any other class. Hence they were never, except
in urgent cases, to be appointed rectors of colleges, or superiors of the
House of Probation. It was the strict observance of this rule which,
perhaps more than anything else, contributed to the ruin of the order.
The General, as we have already said, is at the head of the hierarchy,
the absolute master of persons and things. He is elected for life, by a
General Congregation of the Society, the decision requiring a majority
of votes, and the observance of certain rules. But sometimes, when
“elected by _general inspiration_, those rules may be dispensed with,”
for the HOLY GHOST, who inspires such an election, supplies the want of
every form of election.[47] To this Congregation there are convened two
Jesuits of the Professed class residing in Rome, all the Provincials,
and also two Professed members chosen in every province by a Provincial
Congregation. The formalities of the election are very much the same as
those observed in the election of the Pope.[48] After attending mass, the
electors are confined in an apartment, where they cannot communicate with
any one from without; and, to compel them to decide within a reasonable
time, they are allowed no better aliment than bread and water until a
General is chosen. When this fortunate occurrence takes place, and the
new General is proclaimed, every one present must come forward to do him
reverence, and, _kneeling on both knees_, kiss his hand.[49] The same
Congregation which elects the General appoints also four assistants,
to reside near him in Rome. At the period when the Constitution was
ultimately defined, toward 1552, the Jesuits had divided the world into
four provinces, viz. India, Spain and Portugal, Germany and France, and
Italy and Sicily. Each of the four assistants attend separately to the
affairs of one of these four provinces, and all of them together, when
required, assist the General in the general business of the Society. At
the same Congregation there is also appointed a pious man as _admonitor_
to the General, whose duty is to be near the General, to watch him, and,
“should he perceive him swerving from the right path, with all possible
humility to advise him, after earnest and devout prayer to God, what he
considers to be the best course to follow.”
In the event of the death or prolonged absence of any of these officials,
the General may appoint some one to the vacant post, provided his choice
be approved by the majority of the Provincials. All these officials are
given to the General by the Constitution, partly to assist him in the
fulfilment of his duties, and partly to be constant and keen surveyors of
his conduct. “And should the General sin in _copula carnalis_, wounding
any one, applying to his own use or giving away any of the revenues of
the colleges, or holding depraved doctrines, as soon as the charge is
proved by adequate evidence, the four assistants immediately call forth
the General Congregation.”[50] However, with the exception of alienating
any real property of the colleges, the General has full and unlimited
power, even to the granting of a dispensation for any of the rules of the
Constitution. He appoints and disposes of all the subaltern officials
of the Society, and receives into it, or dismisses from it, any person
whom he pleases, and that at any time he may choose. He buys or exchanges
property for the order by his own authority, and has the superintendence
of its whole administration.
The Provincials send him, once a year, an elaborate and detailed account
of every member of the order, the correctness of which is ascertained by
private investigation through different and opposite sources, because
(as is thought) he does not place implicit confidence even in them.
The Constitutions say—“The General scrutinises as far as possible the
character of those who are under his control, and especially Provincials,
and others to whom he intrusts matters of importance.”[51]
V. THE PROVINCIALS.
The Provincials are elected by the General from the class of the
Professed. They are appointed for three years, but may be confirmed or
dismissed at the General’s will. The importance of the province over
which he is set depends upon the number of houses or colleges established
within its bounds. The Rectors, Administrators, or local Superiors,
write to the Provincials monthly a full and correct account of the
inclinations, opinions, defects, propensities, and characters of every
individual under their charge. Confidential persons, and especially
Confessors, are of great assistance to them in the drawing up of their
reports, from which the Provincials extract theirs, which are yearly sent
to the General.
VI. RECTORS, SUPERIORS, AND ADMINISTRATORS.
The Rectors are intrusted with the superintendence of the colleges. The
General chooses them from the class of the Spiritual Coadjutors, but
appoints them for no determinate period, which leaves him at liberty to
dismiss them whenever he pleases.
The Superiors, elected from the same class and by the same authority,
have the oversight of the Houses of the First and Second Probation.
Each of these officials, Superior, Rector, and Provincial, has in his
respective sphere as absolute a power over his subordinates as the
General has over any member of the Society.
The Administrators are chosen by the General from the Temporal
Coadjutors under his control. They have the entire management of the
temporal concerns both of houses and colleges.
The Rectors and Superiors are forbidden to have anything to do with
any temporal matter whatever; because it forms a conspicuous part of
the admirable Jesuitical system, to have prescribed for every class of
Jesuits its particular duties, from which it is not to be diverted by any
occupation whatever. This has largely contributed to the aggrandisement
and success of the Society, as long as the rules were observed.
All these functionaries have subaltern officers, who assist them in the
discharge of their duties. Provincials, Rectors, Superiors, and some of
the Professed, compose the Provincial Congregations, where the affairs of
the district are discussed, and whence the delegates which are to be sent
to the General Congregation are chosen.
Having thus given a general outline of the origin and constitutions of
the Society, and the limits of this work forbidding me to enlarge to any
great extent upon this part of my subject, I shall now proceed to examine
its progress.