Luigi Fortis
Encyclopedia
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
– January 27, 1829, 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...
, Italy) was an Italian Jesuit elected 20th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus.
Early life and formation
Fortis joined the Jesuits in 1762 after studying at the San Sebastian High School of Verona: he was only 14 years old. He did his philosophical studies (1767–70) at Bologna and was busy teaching humanitiesHumanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
at the University of Ferrara
University of Ferrara
The University of Ferrara is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy...
when 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...
was suppressed in 1773.
Ex-Jesuit
After the suppression Fortis returned to his home town of Verona where he got employment as a private Mathematics teacher. He pursued however his desire to become a priest and was ordained so in 1778. In 1784 he established contacts with the Jesuits of RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
but was advised to stay in Italy where there was greater need of his services. In 1793 he passed into the Duchy of Parma
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
where the Jesuits had obtained re-entry, and he renewed his vows as a Jesuit. For a few years he taught Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at the College of the Nobles of Parma. With the invasion of Parma by the French army in 1804 he was again a refugee, this time in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
where the Society had been restored. His teaching in the newly opened college of Naples (1805) did not last as, with the arrival of José Napoleon, the Jesuits were again expelled from Naples. Fortis went to Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
and then returned to his home town, Verona (1810). Wherever he could he was a teacher of Poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, 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 Logic.
Restoration
Soon after the universal restoration of the Society (1814) Fortis was made provincial of the Jesuits in the Italian peninsula (1815–1818) and even Vicar of the Superior General, Tadeusz BrzozowskiTadeusz Brzozowski
Tadeusz Brzozowski was a Polish Jesuit, elected 19th Superior General of the Society of Jesus.-Birth:Brzozowski was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, on October 21, 1749, of parents of Polish descent.- Career :Brzozowski entered the Jesuit order in 1765, and studied Rhetoric, Greek, French and...
(1814–1819), as the latter was not allowed by the czar to leave Russia.
20th General Congregation
The 20th General CongregationGeneral 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...
(following the death of Father General
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...
Tadeusz Brzozowski
Tadeusz Brzozowski
Tadeusz Brzozowski was a Polish Jesuit, elected 19th Superior General of the Society of Jesus.-Birth:Brzozowski was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, on October 21, 1749, of parents of Polish descent.- Career :Brzozowski entered the Jesuit order in 1765, and studied Rhetoric, Greek, French and...
) was held from October 9 to December 10, 1820. The toll taken by the long years of suppression and exile was made all too evident by the intrigue and turbulence marring the Congregation. The direct intervention of Pius VII
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
was necessary to stop the quarrels over credentials and intrigues within the Roman 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...
. The Congregation finally elected Luigi Fortis as Superior General. Beside electing Fortis the Congregation's concern was to reassert without ambiguity that this was the same 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...
as founded by St Ignatius: it declared that not just the Constitutions, their Declarations, the various 'rules' but all the legislation of the previous congregations and letters of Generals of the old Society remained in effect. The new Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII , born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.-Life:...
granted Father Fortis this confirmation early in his papacy. There were around 1200 Jesuits, in 6 provinces, at that time.
Superior General
- The new Superior General dedicated his short term of office to restoring the texture of Jesuit life as he had known it in the old Society. Fortis' letters to the whole Society describe in detail the customs which should regulate the life of the novitiateNovitiateNovitiate, 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....
s and scholasticates. One can still find little booklets from his time containing extracts from the letters of the Generals of the old Society with lists of the occasions on which they should be read aloud during meals. The principal achievement of Father Fortis and his generation of Jesuits lay in establishing beyond question the historical continuity of the restored Society with the Society founded by IgnatiusIgnatius of LoyolaIgnatius 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...
that had existed until 1773. - Fortis reestablished also several provinces, including in the new world (Mexico), and three missions (Ireland, Maryland and Missouri) were depending directly on the General. Requests were coming from many places for the Jesuits to start anew the work they had been doing in the past, especially in the educational field. This prompted Fortis to initiate a revision of the Ratio StudiorumRatio StudiorumThe Ratio Studiorum often designates the document that formally established the globally influential system of Jesuit education in 1599...
to adapt it to the thoroughly new socio-religious atmosphere of the 19th century. - A sign of the new trust of the papacy towards the Society is the fact that Pope Leo XIIPope Leo XIIPope Leo XII , born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.-Life:...
returned to Jesuit management the Roman College, as well as the church of St Ignatius, in Rome (1824).
Death
After being Superior General for eight years and three months he died in RomeRome
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...
on January 27, 1829. He was buried in the crypt of the Gesú
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...
. By then the Society had already 2100 members in 9 provinces.