Superior general of the Society of Jesus

The superior general of the Society of Jesus is the leader of the Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position sometimes carries the nickname of the Black Pope, because of his responsibility for the largest male religious order, in contrast with the white garb of the pope. The thirty-first and current superior general is Fr Arturo Sosa, elected by the 36th General Congregation on 14 October 2016.

Titles

The formal title in Latin is Praepositus Generalis, which may fairly be rendered as "superior general" or even, "president general". The term is like that of military usage which is derived from "general", as opposed to "particular". This usage is consistent with other Catholic religious orders, like the Dominicans' "master general", Franciscans' "minister general", Carthusians' "prior general", and with civil posts such as Postmaster General and Attorney General. The Jesuits are organized into provinces, each with a provincial superior,, with the head of the order being the "general superior", for the whole organization. As a major superior, the Superior General is styled "Very Reverend".

Black Pope

"Black Pope" is an unofficial designation given to the position of Superior General of the Order of the Jesuits. The name follows from his leadership of the largest Catholic, male religious order and from the colour of the plain black cassock worn by members of the Society, including the Superior General. This may have originated from a past concern among Protestant European countries concerning the relative power of the Jesuits within the Roman Catholic Church, and partly because the Superior General, like the Pope, is elected for life.

Powers

The Superior General is invested with governing power over all the members of the Society, but customarily leads through Provincial superiors under him. Such power follows from the religious vows that bind members to community life, as in other religious orders.

Succession

Superiors General are elected by the General Congregation of the Society, summoned upon the resignation or death of an incumbent. Superiors General are elected for life and up to recently, as with the Popes, have served life terms. The exceptions being Father Pedro Arrupe and both his successors, Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach and Father Adolfo Nicolás. On 2 October 2016, General Congregation 36 convened in Rome, convoked by Superior General Nicolás, and it elected Father Arturo Sosa as the thirty-first Superior General.

List of Superiors General

Until the 21st century, it was customary for Superiors General to rule for life. Where they left office before death, the date of death is listed below the date they left office.

	Superior General	Portrait	Took office	Left office Deceased	Birthplace	Duration
1	Ignatius of Loyola		19 4 1541	31 7 1556	Azpeitia, Spain	5582
2			2 7 1558	19 1 1565	Almazán, Spain	2393
3			2 7 1565	1 10 1572	Gandia, Spain	2648
4			23 4 1573	1 8 1580	La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium	2657
5			19 2 1581	31 1 1615	Atri, Italy	12399
6			15.11.1615	9 2 1645	Rome, Italy	10679
7			7 1 1646	8 6 1649	Naples, Italy	1248
8			21.12.1649	17 6 1651	Siena, Italy	543
9			21 1 1652	12 3 1652	Rome, Italy	51
10			17 3 1652	31 7 1664	Jülich, Germany	4519
11			31 7 1664	26.11.1681	Genoa, Italy	6327
12			5 7 1682	12.12.1686	Brussels, Belgium	1621
13			6 7 1687	27.10.1705	Arganza, Spain	6688
14			31 1 1706	28 2 1730	Modena, Italy	8521
15			7 3 1730	19.11.1750	Prague, Bohemia	7562
16			4 7 1751	4 5 1755	Milan, Italy	1389
17			30.11.1755	2 10 1757	Genoa, Italy	672
18			21 5 1758	16 8 1773 24 November 1775 21 July 1773	Florence, Italy	5566
—			17.10.1782	21.10.1785	Kaunas, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	1100
—			8 10 1785	21.10.1798	Polotsk, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	4761
—			12 2 1799	11 8 1802	Orsha, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	1275
—			22.10.1802	6 4 1805	Vienna, Austria	897
19			7 8 1814	5 2 1820	Königsberg, Prussia	2008
20			18.10.1820	27 1 1829	Verona, Italy	3023
21			9 7 1829	8 5 1853	Amsterdam, Netherlands	8704
22			2 8 1853	4 3 1887	Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium	12267
23			4 3 1887	18 1 1892	Berisal, Switzerland	1781
24			2 10 1892	18 4 1906	Melgar de Fernamental, Spain	4945
25			8 9 1906	20 8 1914	Rottweil, Germany	2903
26			11 2 1915	13.12.1942	Loosdorf, Austria	10167
27			15 9 1946	5 10 1964	Mechelen, Belgium	6595
28			22 5 1965	3 9 1983 5 February 1991	Bilbao, Spain	6678
29			13 9 1983	14 1 2008 26 November 2016	Druten, Netherlands	8889
30			19 1 2008	03.10.2016 20 May 2020	Villamuriel de Cerrato, Spain	3169
31			14.10.2016	Incumbent	Caracas, Venezuela

Leadership during suppression

In 1773, the Jesuits were suppressed by Pope Clement XIV, through the Papal brief Dominus ac Redemptor on 21 July 1773, executed 16 August. The leaders of the order, in the nations where the Papal suppression order was not enforced, were known as temporary Vicars General.
The temporary Vicars General were:

On 7 March 1801, Pope Pius VII issued the brief Catholicae fidei, giving approval to the existence of the Society in Russia and allowing the Society there to elect a Superior General for Russia. This was the first step to the Society's eventual restoration.
The Superiors General in Russia were:

The order was restored on 7 August 1814, by Pope Pius VII, through the papal bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum.