The suppression of the Jesuits: power and oppositions

The suppression of the Society of Jesus was a process of forced expulsion of the Jesuits, undertaken by various Catholic states in the second half of the 18th century.
Their power, which was also political, was immense: the Jesuits were among the most active missionaries in spreading Christianity in India and China, where they adopted innovative strategies such as integrating local cultural elements into their evangelical message. However, their growing influence provoked strong antagonism, both from other religious orders and from certain European governments. In the East, Franciscans, who had long been engaged in missions, accused the Jesuits of manipulating the evangelical message to adapt it to the educated classes of China and India. This Jesuit method, known as the ‘Chinese Rite’, aimed to convert the elites but sparked significant controversy and criticism. In the West, the governments of Portugal and Spain viewed the autonomy of Jesuit missions with suspicion, particularly in Latin America, where the Society operated in vast territories, including indigenous lands. Here, Jesuit missions, although established to protect local populations, were perceived as a threat to European control.
Between 1760 and 1780, what seemed like an untouchable political and cultural empire was progressively dismantled. The suppression of the Society’s missions and activities began in Portugal and later extended to France, Spain, and the Italian states under Bourbon rule, such as Naples and Parma. Survivors found refuge in the Papal States, but with the bull Dominus ac Redemptor, issued on July 21st, 1773, Pope Clement XIV – under heavy pressure from France, Spain, and Portugal – decreed the canonical suppression of the Society of Jesus. The persecution of the order led to the dismantling of hundreds of colleges and the dispersal of invaluable libraries. Nonetheless, many members of the Society continued to contribute to the intellectual landscape, maintaining relationships with moderate figures of the Enlightenment.
There were few territories where Pope Clement XIV’s bull was not enforced. Frederick II of Prussia and Empress Catherine II of Russia recognized the educational value of the Jesuits and allowed them to continue operating in their respective domains, such as Silesia and Belarus, where the order maintained schools and educational activities.
With Napoleon’s return in the early 19th century, the Jesuits were gradually readmitted to certain territories, such as Parma, thanks also to the support of particularly enlightened clerical circles. Following the fall of the Napoleonic Empire and the return of Pope Pius VII from exile, one of the first acts issued by the pontiff was the bull Sollecitudo omnium ecclesiarum, promulgated on August 7th, 1814, which officially restored the Society of Jesus, marking a turning point in the order’s history.
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