When was the last time a Jesuit became Pope?

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seabird3579

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I’m just curious, and didn’t know which forum to ask this question in? Is anyone familiar enough with Papal history to know when was the last time a Jesuit became Pope, and how many Popes have been Jesuits? …just curious.
 
yeah, hasnt happened. Generally it is required that the pope has to be catholic… (just kidding)

but on an aside, i wonder how the personal fealty to the pope the SJ has would work if he was pope?

on another aside. if a religious priest becomes pope, must he still obey his superior or does he become the head of the order ipso facto?
 
I am never quite sure why so many take potshots at the Jesuits.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was the founder; he is a saint who is now with God in eternity, and the spiritual exercises he left behind are a phenomenal means of advancing in the prayer life.

In addition, I live in an area where nearly all the Masses at local parishes are said bu Jesuits, and they are all very orthodox and faithful to Rome.

My great uncle is also a Jesuit and I know he is quite orthodox.

Perhaps someone might explain the origins of this animosity towards the Jesuits?

As an aside, how many Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Trappists, and Augustinians have been popes? I was not aware that many popes belonged to a religious order; most, it seems, or at least in the 20th c., have been secular priests.
 
It’s my understanding that a Jesuit is techincally not supposed to be eligible for the papacy because the Jesuit fourth vow is a vow of loyalty to the Pope. Thus, part of the Jesuit charism is one of service to the Pope; it would seem a negation of the fourth vow if the servant became the master. This may be changing, however; in the most recent conclave, a Jesuit (I think he was from Argentina) was considered a serious candidate for the papacy.
 
Mike O:
I am never quite sure why so many take potshots at the Jesuits.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was the founder; he is a saint who is now with God in eternity, and the spiritual exercises he left behind are a phenomenal means of advancing in the prayer life.

In addition, I live in an area where nearly all the Masses at local parishes are said bu Jesuits, and they are all very orthodox and faithful to Rome.

My great uncle is also a Jesuit and I know he is quite orthodox.

Perhaps someone might explain the origins of this animosity towards the Jesuits?

As an aside, how many Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Trappists, and Augustinians have been popes? I was not aware that many popes belonged to a religious order; most, it seems, or at least in the 20th c., have been secular priests.
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I don’t know the origins but I have some friends who have been to different Jesuit priests for Confession and they told me these priests are not understanding or compassionate. They have tended to be scolding because the people have sinned!
 
I think the animosity stems from the perceived lack of orthodoxy among the modern Jesuit order as a whole. There are always exceptions to the rule, however, and the order should not be judged harshly because of a few whacky individuals.
 
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Thepeug:
because of a few whacky individuals.
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A few? But seriously, I know of a few good Jesuits. Fr. Fessio being one of them. That said, I know of many who persecute the good.
 
I’m not sure on the year, but perhaps during the 70s the Jesuits were disbanded as an order and were only fairly recently reinstated. I’ve never had anyone be able to tell me quite why they were disbanded besides their having an over-riding liberal sentiment, but I do know that it happened after the Jesuits stopped swearing fealty to the Pope. I’d imagine that they still CAN do it, but it is no longer one of their vows from what I understand.

The Jesuit order has a strong base formed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, so there is nothing inherently wrong with their order. The problems that occur are from many (and likely the majority) of the members, but it does not come from the nature of the order. The Jesuits were once the teachers of the faith. Hopefully the will one day be able to return to being firm defenders and promoters of orthodoxy.

I will end with a joke my apologetics teacher taught me last year.

Q: What’s the only thing that doesn’t change in a Jesuit mass?

A: The bread and wine
 
Thepeug is correct. Although a Jesuit is eligible he will not take up the post of pope. This is because of Ignatius’ sworn loyality and obedience to the pope - the fourth vow.

Some people even believe that the “black pope” that Nostradamus wrote about is actually a Jesuit priest becoming pope. Not a black man. This would signal the end of the world - according to Nostradamus! :whacky: 😃
 
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Thepeug:
I think the animosity stems from the perceived lack of orthodoxy among the modern Jesuit order as a whole. There are always exceptions to the rule, however, and the order should not be judged harshly because of a few whacky individuals.
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Most of the objections I have heard about Jesuits stem from their loyalty to the Pope. This is their charism, very difficult for many to understand. The early Jesuit history is fascinating. They were such criminals for the Pope. In one instance, they were smuggling gold bars wrapped in chocolate into the Vatican right under the king’s nose because the king had claimed all rights to the bounty of the New World. Went hard on them when they were caught. I think they lost some of that spirit in the 70’s and 80’s but from what I can see they have righted themselves. I think we won’t be seeing a Jesuit pope in our lifetimes.
 
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katewithak:
Most of the objections I have heard about Jesuits stem from their loyalty to the Pope. This is their charism, very difficult for many to understand. The early Jesuit history is fascinating. They were such criminals for the Pope. In one instance, they were smuggling gold bars wrapped in chocolate into the Vatican right under the king’s nose because the king had claimed all rights to the bounty of the New World. Went hard on them when they were caught. I think they lost some of that spirit in the 70’s and 80’s but from what I can see they have righted themselves. I think we won’t be seeing a Jesuit pope in our lifetimes.
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How would taking a vow of “loyalty” to the Pope make you ineligible to become Pope? Seems to be at odds with logic.
 
Aaron I.:
I will end with a joke my apologetics teacher taught me last year.

Q: What’s the only thing that doesn’t change in a Jesuit mass?

A: The bread and wine
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😉

Cute, I’ve heard similar, but personally I don’t believe a few bad apples should ruin it for all Jesuits. Many of them serve selflessly and God knows each of their hearts.

…however, I do take issue with the Jesuit “vatican astronomer” disavowing Intelligent Design. To me it is Obvious that the universe follows an “ordered” design rather than a “disordered” design. That’s all ID is trying to suggest, but it is a Different Subject for a Different Board.

Thanks, to all of you for your responses.

God Bless all of you and don’t forget to watch EWTN Live and the Pro-Life rallies in Washington DC.

👍
 
One of the cardinals who purportedly got votes in the conclave was Carlo Cardinal Martini, SJ, Archbishop-Emeritus of Milan. There are more Jesuit cardinals alive than cardinals from any other religious order.

And
Aaron I.:
I’m not sure on the year, but perhaps during the 70s the Jesuits were disbanded as an order and were only fairly recently reinstated.
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Goodness, no, Aaron. The Jesuits were suppressed once, near the beginning of the 1800s, and it was political. I’ll link to the story.

John
 
Mike O:
As an aside, how many Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Trappists, and Augustinians have been popes? I was not aware that many popes belonged to a religious order; most, it seems, or at least in the 20th c., have been secular priests.
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From a brief look via google, there have been two Dominican popes: Pius V and Benedict XIII; two Franciscans: Nicholas IV and Sixtus IV; two Benedictines: Bl. Urban V and (probably) Leo VII. No Carmelites of the first Order have been popes, but at least one, the late and great John Paul II, was a Third Order Secular Discalced Carmelite. A number of popes have been members of Third Orders, including Pius XI, a Secular Franciscan.
 
Aaron I.:
I’m not sure on the year, but perhaps during the 70s the Jesuits were disbanded as an order and were only fairly recently reinstated. I’ve never had anyone be able to tell me quite why they were disbanded besides their having an over-riding liberal sentiment, but I do know that it happened after the Jesuits stopped swearing fealty to the Pope. I’d imagine that they still CAN do it, but it is no longer one of their vows from what I understand.
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I don’t think disbanded or suppressed is ythe correct term for what happened in the 1970’s. As I recall their head man in Rome was not replaced for a while and the Vatican made some moves to strighten out some disarray in the order before turning the leadership back over to the order. For the life of me I can’t recall the head man’s name or title. Something “General”.
 
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Brain:
on another aside. if a religious priest becomes pope, must he still obey his superior or does he become the head of the order ipso facto?
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Peace be with you!

I think that if a person that was of a religious order became pope, then they wouldn’t be of that order any more; they would just be the pope. Kind of like in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series (which, by my name, you can all tell I like) the Amyrlin Seat is “of all the Ajahs and of none”.

In Christ,
Rand
 
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seabird3579:
How would taking a vow of “loyalty” to the Pope make you ineligible to become Pope? Seems to be at odds with logic.
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Their particular charism to to defend the Pope and be loyal to the Pope and to spread the Gospel. I think the Society of Jesus does not take as it’s personal charism defending themselves. That is why there have been so many Jesuit martyrs over the years. Especially in America.
 
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katewithak:
Their particular charism to to defend the Pope and be loyal to the Pope and to spread the Gospel. I think the Society of Jesus does not take as it’s personal charism defending themselves. That is why there have been so many Jesuit martyrs over the years. Especially in America.
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Jesuits have been martyred in America? North America? or are you referring to Central America and South America?
 
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seabird3579:
Jesuits have been martyred in America? North America? or are you referring to Central America and South America?
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All of them. Everywhere, Asia too. And they didn’t get there defending themselves, for sure. 👍
 
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