destroyer of religion and morality, was barred from France. In separate decrees it ordered Jesuits to abandon all relations with the Society and made them ineligible for any academic or civic positions unless they publicly repudiated it. Just as severe and laden with almost irreversible consequences, another decree declared all Jesuit buildings, institutions, and properties confiscated.
In Paris steps were immediately taken to implement the decrees, but at least for a while in other parts of France, some parlements resisted the pressure from Paris. But the die was cast. Finally, in November 1764, Louis XV, his hand forced, took the final step and issued the royal decree of suppression. In it he mitigated the conditions the Parlement had laid down for the Jesuits, but even the mitigation could not save some three thousand Jesuits from destitution. Ejected from their communities and all their assets seized, they had to find food and shelter wherever they could, as best they could.
Spain soon followed suit. The monarchy had a long tradition of asserting Spanish rights against the encroachments of Rome. King Charles III, surrounded by advisers who believed the Jesuitswere subversive of those rights, became thoroughly convinced that the Society was the monster its enemies described. Encouraged by the example of Portugal and France, he decided to eject from his domains the Jesuits, notorious fomenters of rebellion. On January 29, 1767, the Extraordinary Council ordered the banishment of the Society of Jesus from all Spanish territory and the seizure of all its properties.
The king declared any public protest in favor of the Jesuits an act of high treason, punishable by death. The Jesuits in Spain and overseas were forced onto ships and sent onto the high seas, destination unspecified. Only at that point did Spanish officials open negotiations about where they might deposit their unwanted cargo. The refugees themselves, which included some l,800 from the overseas missions, bounced from port to port, where one after another refused them admittance.
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples) and the Duchy of Parma were the next to banish the Jesuits, but the great prize, a general suppression by the papacy, eluded the Jesuitsâ enemies. Such a suppression would not only rid the whole church of the Jesuits but show to all the world the weakness of the papacy. Pope Clement XIII (reigned 1758â1769) took action many times to try to forestall the suppression in France alone, and he publicly testified to the innocence of the Jesuits and their extraordinary importance for the well-being of the church.
When on February 15, 1769, the conclave to elect his successor opened, the Jesuit question immediately dominated it, which was one of the lengthiest and most contentious conclaves in recent history. Only after three months and a virtually unprecedented 185 voting sessions was Clement XIV elected. When word arrived at the court of Charles III in Spain, a solemn Te Deum was sung ingratitude. Although the new pope seems not openly to have promised to suppress the Jesuits, he could hardly have been elected without somehow communicating a readiness to do so. Nonetheless, he held off for four years. The pressure upon him, which included the implicit threat of schism if he failed to act, was intense. Finally, on July 21, 1773, he signed the brief
Dominus ac Redemptor
abolishing the Society of Jesusââfor the peace and tranquility of the church.â
The document, forty-five paragraphs long, consists in an indictment of the Jesuits and a justification of the popeâs action. Then come the fateful words, âWe suppress and abolish the said Society; we deprive it of all activity whatever, and we likewise deprive it of its houses, schools, colleges, hospitals, lands ⦠in whatever kingdom or province they may be situated.â The document strictly forbade Jesuits to comment on the decree, criticize it, or appeal it.
In
In Paris steps were immediately taken to implement the decrees, but at least for a while in other parts of France, some parlements resisted the pressure from Paris. But the die was cast. Finally, in November 1764, Louis XV, his hand forced, took the final step and issued the royal decree of suppression. In it he mitigated the conditions the Parlement had laid down for the Jesuits, but even the mitigation could not save some three thousand Jesuits from destitution. Ejected from their communities and all their assets seized, they had to find food and shelter wherever they could, as best they could.
Spain soon followed suit. The monarchy had a long tradition of asserting Spanish rights against the encroachments of Rome. King Charles III, surrounded by advisers who believed the Jesuitswere subversive of those rights, became thoroughly convinced that the Society was the monster its enemies described. Encouraged by the example of Portugal and France, he decided to eject from his domains the Jesuits, notorious fomenters of rebellion. On January 29, 1767, the Extraordinary Council ordered the banishment of the Society of Jesus from all Spanish territory and the seizure of all its properties.
The king declared any public protest in favor of the Jesuits an act of high treason, punishable by death. The Jesuits in Spain and overseas were forced onto ships and sent onto the high seas, destination unspecified. Only at that point did Spanish officials open negotiations about where they might deposit their unwanted cargo. The refugees themselves, which included some l,800 from the overseas missions, bounced from port to port, where one after another refused them admittance.
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples) and the Duchy of Parma were the next to banish the Jesuits, but the great prize, a general suppression by the papacy, eluded the Jesuitsâ enemies. Such a suppression would not only rid the whole church of the Jesuits but show to all the world the weakness of the papacy. Pope Clement XIII (reigned 1758â1769) took action many times to try to forestall the suppression in France alone, and he publicly testified to the innocence of the Jesuits and their extraordinary importance for the well-being of the church.
When on February 15, 1769, the conclave to elect his successor opened, the Jesuit question immediately dominated it, which was one of the lengthiest and most contentious conclaves in recent history. Only after three months and a virtually unprecedented 185 voting sessions was Clement XIV elected. When word arrived at the court of Charles III in Spain, a solemn Te Deum was sung ingratitude. Although the new pope seems not openly to have promised to suppress the Jesuits, he could hardly have been elected without somehow communicating a readiness to do so. Nonetheless, he held off for four years. The pressure upon him, which included the implicit threat of schism if he failed to act, was intense. Finally, on July 21, 1773, he signed the brief
Dominus ac Redemptor
abolishing the Society of Jesusââfor the peace and tranquility of the church.â
The document, forty-five paragraphs long, consists in an indictment of the Jesuits and a justification of the popeâs action. Then come the fateful words, âWe suppress and abolish the said Society; we deprive it of all activity whatever, and we likewise deprive it of its houses, schools, colleges, hospitals, lands ⦠in whatever kingdom or province they may be situated.â The document strictly forbade Jesuits to comment on the decree, criticize it, or appeal it.
In
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