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[[Image:T.Brzozowski.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Tadeusz Brzozowski.]]
{{for|the Polish painter|Tadeusz Brzozowski (painter)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2020}}
'''Tadeusz Brzozowski''' (October 21, 1749 – February 5, 1820) was a [[Poland|Polish]] [[Jesuit]], elected 19th [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]].
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = priest
| honorific-prefix = [[The Very Reverend]] <br>
| name = Tadeusz Brzozowski
| honorific-suffix = [[Society of Jesus|SJ]]
| title = twentieth [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]]
| image = T.Brzozowski.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| alt =
| caption = Very Rev. Tadeusz Brzozowski
| elected = <!-- or | appointed = -->
| term_start = 1805, Papal confirmation 1814<ref>{{cite book|title=Pre-suppression Jesuit Activity in the British Isles and Ireland|
author= Thomas M. McCoog, SJ|publisher= Brill|date= 2019|page=93|isbn= 978-9-0043-9529-9}}</ref>
| quashed =
| term_end = 5 February 1820
| predecessor = vacat
| successor = [[Luigi Fortis]]
| opposed =
| other_post = <!---------- Orders ---------->
| ordination = 1775
| ordained_by =
| consecration =
| consecrated_by =
| cardinal =
| rank = <!---------- Personal details ---------->
| created_cardinal_by =
| birth_name = Tadeusz Brzozowski
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1749|10|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Koenigsberg in Preussen|Koenigsberg]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1820|02|05|1749|10|21|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Polotsk]], [[Russian Empire]]
| buried = Polotsk, Belarus
| nationality = [[Polish people|Polish]]
| religion = [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]
| residence =
| parents =
| spouse = <!-- or | partner = -->
| children =
| occupation =
| profession = <!-- or | previous_post = -->
| alma_mater = [[Slutsk]], [[Nieswiez]], [[Vilnius University]]
| signature =
| coat_of_arms = [[Korab coat of arms|Korab]]
| motto =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| education =
| signature_alt =
| coat_of_arms_alt = <!---------- Sainthood ---------->
| feast_day =
| venerated =
| saint_title =
| beatified_date =
| beatified_place =
| beatified_by =
| canonized_date =
| canonized_place =
| canonized_by =
| attributes =
| patronage =
| shrine =
| suppressed_date = <!---------- Other ---------->
| other =
| module =
| honorific_prefix = The Very Reverend
}}
{{Jesuit}}
'''Tadeusz Brzozowski''', SJ (October 21, 1749{{snd}}February 5, 1820) was a Polish scholar, teacher, administrator and a [[Jesuit]] priest. Having secured its continuity during the [[Suppression of the Society of Jesus|suppression of the Society]] until its restoration, he was elected twentieth [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]] and was its first world-wide general.<ref>{{cite book|title= Jesuit Survival and Restoration: A Global History, 1773-1900. Studies in the History of Christian Traditions|editor1=Robert Aleksander Maryks |editor2=Jonathan Wright|edition=revised reprint|publisher=Brill|date= 2014|page=393|isbn=978-9-0042-8387-9}}</ref>


==Birth==
==Background==
Brzozowski was born in [[Königsberg]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]], on October 21, 1749, into a [[Polish people|Polish]] family. He entered the [[Society of Jesus]] in 1765, and studied Rhetoric, Greek, French and classical literature in [[Slutsk]] (Belarus) (1767–70), followed by Philosophy and Mathematics in [[Nesvizh|Nieśwież]] (1770–73). After the Suppression of the Order in the rest of the world on 21 July 1773 (owing to [[Catherine the Great]], patron of "her" Jesuits, it did not apply in the Russian Empire), he continued his theological studies in [[Vilnius]], where he was ordained priest in 1775. In effect he was no longer formally a member of the Society.<ref>{{cite book | title = [[Polski Słownik Biograficzny]] | volume = 3 | publisher = [[Polska Akademia Umiejętności]] – Skład Główny w Księgarniach Gebethner i Wolff | place = [[Kraków]] | date = 1937 | series = Brożek Jan – Chwalczewski Franciszek | chapter = Brzozowski Tadeusz | author = Bednarski, Stanisław | page = 68|language=pl}} Reprint: [[Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]], Kraków 1989, {{ISBN|83-04-03291-0}}</ref> However, as the [[Partitions of Poland|partitions of Poland-Lithuania]] progressed over the next 20 years, paradoxically the range of the Jesuits expanded temporarily along with the borders of the Russian
Brzozowski was born in [[Königsberg]], [[East Prussia]], ([[Kaliningrad]], [[Russia]]) on October 21, 1749, of parents of [[Poles|Polish]] descent.
Empire.


=== Return to the Society in Russia ===
== Career ==
In 1782 Brzozowski left for [[Polotsk]], [[Belarus]] in the [[Russian Empire]], in order to be able to rejoin the Society, which was allowed to continue there. A gifted linguist (fluent in Latin, French, German, Russian) he translated theological works into his native [[Polish language|Polish]], such as, ''Dykcjonarz filozoficzny religii'' (a Philosophical Dictionary of Religion) by C. F. Nonnotte, Wilno 1782 and ''O naśladowaniu Najświętszej Maryi Panny'' (The Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) by A. de Rouville, Połock 1800. He was also a successful and well known preacher. In 1797 he was named Secretary of the Society and worked closely with [[Gabriel Lenkiewicz]], [[Franciszek Kareu]] and [[Gabriel Gruber]], the successive Vicars General of the Society in Russia. On their behalf he corresponded with the many ex-jesuits abroad who wished to rejoin the Society. At the Regional Congregation of 1802 he was made Assistant of the newly elected Superior of the Jesuits of the Russian Province, Gabriel Gruber. He had an especial devotion to the Jesuit martyr, [[Andrew Bobola]] and in 1808 he exhumed his remains from [[Pinsk]] and brought them for reburial in Polotsk. He expanded missionary activity in [[Mozdok]], in the [[Caucasus]] (1806), [[Irkutsk]] (1810) and in [[Tomsk]] (1814). He also planned to send missionaries to [[China]]. In 1806-1810 he despatched eight Belarusian Jesuits to [[Boston]] to help foster the Society's revival there.
Brzozowski entered the [[Jesuit]] order in 1765, and studied Rhetoric, Greek, French and classical literature in Slutsk (Belarus)(1767-70) followed by Philosophy and Mathematics in Nesviz (1770-73).

=== Suppression of the Society ===
After the [[Suppression of the Society of Jesus]] (1773) he continued his Theological studies in [[Vilnius]], [[Vilna Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]] ([[Vilnius]], [[Lithuania]]), where he was ordained priest in 1775.

=== Return to the Jesuits in Russia ===
In 1782 he left for [[Polotsk|Polatsk]], in the [[Russian Empire]], ([[Polotsk]], [[Belarus]]) in order to be readmitted among the Jesuits. A gifted linguist (knowing Latin, French, German, Russian) he translated theological works in his native Polish. He was also a successful and well known preacher. In 1797 he was named Secretary of the Society and worked closely with [[Gabriel Lenkiewicz]], [[Franciszek Kareu]] and [[Gabriel Gruber]], the successive Vicars General of the Society in Russia. On their behalf he was keeping correspondence with the many ex-jesuits who wanted to rejoin the Order. At the Regional Congregation of 1802 he was made Assistant of the newly elected Superior General of the Jesuits in Russia, [[Gabriel Gruber]].


=== Superior General ===
=== Superior General ===
At the death of Gruber, in 1805, the Regional (Polish) Congregation IV met at [[Polotsk|Polatsk]], at this point part of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] ([[Polotsk]], [[Belarus]]) and elected Tadeusz Brzozowski as Superior General of the Society in Russia. The new elected General immediately sent a message to [[Pope Pius VI]] thanking him for having restored the Society in Sicily. By then a steady stream of young men was coming to Russia to join the Society. Between 1803 and 1805, 103 candidates entered the novitiate of Polatsk, 23 among them being priests. The total number of Jesuits was 333, mostly engaged in educational activities (7 high schools in Russia only) but moving also into pastoral work in [[Latvia]] and Lithuania.
Following the death of Gruber, in 1805, the Regional (Polish) Fourth Congregation met at Polotsk, again part of Lithuania and elected Tadeusz Brzozowski as Superior General of the Society which was still functioning in the territory of Russia. The newly elected General immediately sent a message to [[Pope Pius VII]] thanking him for having restored the Society in [[Sicily]]. By then a steady stream of young men was coming to Russia to join the Society. Between 1803 and 1805, 103 candidates entered the novitiate of Polotsk, 23 of them already ordained priests. The total number of Jesuits grew to 333, mostly engaged in educational activities, in 7 high schools in Russia, but also moving into pastoral work in [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]].
It seemed clear that the suppression would eventually be undone. in 1812 Polatsk was upgraded by [[Tsar Alexander I]] into a university academy, allowing thus affiliation of all the Jesuit schools and protecting them from undue local interference.


It became clear that the suppression of the Society would eventually be lifted. in 1812 the college in Polotsk was upgraded by [[Alexander I of Russia]] into a university academy, thus allowing affiliation of all the Jesuit schools and affording them protection from undue local political interference.
In October 1806, the ex-jesuits of Maryland were fully incorporated into the Society and Brzozowski allowed an [[United States|American]] [[novitiate]] with ten novices to be opened at [[Georgetown University|Georgetown]]. Later that year, [[Bishop]] [[Joseph-Octave Plessis]] of [[Québec]] wrote to Pius VII and to Brzozowski, begging that Jesuits be sent from [[Great Britain]] not only for [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] but to work among the [[Aboriginal peoples in Quebec|aboriginal people]] in [[Upper Canada]] as well. Brzozowski sent four men—two from Russia and two from England—but the war in Europe and the dangers of travel made their mission impossible.


In October 1806, the "ex-Jesuits" of [[Maryland]] in [[United States|America]] were fully incorporated into the Society and Brzozowski allowed an [[United States|American]] [[novitiate]] to be opened with ten novices at [[Georgetown University|Georgetown]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Jesuit Suppression in Global Context: Causes, Events, and Consequences|editor1= Burson, Jeffrey D. |editor2=Wright, Jonathan|publisher =Cambridge University Press|date= 2015|pages=205–238|isbn=978-1-1070-3058-9}}</ref> Later that year, [[Bishop]] [[Joseph-Octave Plessis]] of [[Québec]] wrote to exiled [[Pope Pius VII]] and to Brzozowski, begging for Jesuits to be sent from [[Great Britain]] both to [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] [[Nova Scotia]] and also to work among the [[Aboriginal peoples in Quebec|aboriginal people]] in [[Upper Canada]]. Brzozowski sent four men as requested, two from Russia and two from England, but the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in Europe and the dangers of travel made their mission impossible.
On the other hand there were growing internal tensions as the foreign Jesuits, not conversant with the political situation of the empire, were criticizing Brzozowski for certain decisions taken that, they felt, were too liberal (such as allowing the Orthodox faith to be taught in Jesuit schools).

Internal tensions grew in the Society as non-Russian or Polish Jesuits, not being conversant with the political situation of the Russian empire, criticized Brzozowski for certain decisions he took which, in their estimation, were too liberal, such as allowing the [[Orthodox Church of Russia|Orthodox faith]] to be taught in Jesuit schools.


=== Restoration of the Society ===
=== Restoration of the Society ===
Brzozoswki worked tirelessly to obtain the universal restoration of the Society, personally and through his delegate in Rome, [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|Fr]] [[Luigi Fortis]] [[Society of Jesus|SJ]]. This is one of the first things [[Pope Pius VII]] did after returning from Napoleonic exile to Rome. On August 7, 1814, almost exactly forty-one years to the day since Clement XIV suppressed the Society, Pius VII celebrated mass in the [[Church of the Gesú]], and formally promulgated the [[Papal bull|bull]] of restoration, ''Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum''. The newly reconstituted Jesuits deemed a general congregation unnecessary: Brzozowski retained the title and became [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]] in the full sense. As a result of [[Czar]] [[Alexander I of Russia]] prohibiting Brzozowski from leaving Russia, he appointed [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|Fr]] [[Luigi Fortis]] [[Society of Jesus|SJ]], as his representative in Rome from 1814 to 1819, when Brzozowski died. Brzozowski was the link which bound the two parts of the Society together.
Brzozowski worked tirelessly to obtain the general restoration of the Society, both personally and through his delegate in Rome, Father [[Luigi Fortis]] SJ. On his return from Napoleonic exile to Rome, Pope Pius VII lifted the suppression of the Society on August 7, 1814.<ref>{{cite book|title= Jesuits|author = Malachi Martin|publisher = Simon and Schuster|date = 2013| page = 217|isbn = 978-1476-75188-7}}</ref> Forty-one years after Clement XIV suppressed the Society, Pius VII celebrated mass in the [[Church of the Gesú]], and formally promulgated the [[Papal bull]] of restoration, ''Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum''. The newly reconstituted Society of Jesus deemed a general congregation unnecessary: Brzozowski retained his role and became formally [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]]. However, Tsar Alexander prohibited Brzozowski from leaving Russia. Brzozowski therefore appointed Luigi Fortis, as his representative in Rome from 1814 until his death in 1820. Brzozowski had managed to secure the continuity of the Society from his exile in Russia.


=== Political complications ===
=== Political complications ===
The restoration came at a time when Russia was experiencing a strong nationalist movement, calling, among other things for a strengthening of the [[Orthodox Church]]. The Jesuits were seen as an obstacle to that. Alarmed at the new growth of the Jesuits, Alexander published an edict on December 20, 1815 expelling them from [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]] and taking over their High School on the ground that the Jesuits were using it to convert Russian nobles to Catholicism. Brzozowski was detained and forbidden to return to Rome, despite his ailing health and his protests. Sensing that the days of the Society in Russia were numbered Brzozowski sent several Jesuits to a number of countries in Western Europe to speed up the reestablishment of the order.
The Society's restoration coincided with Russia becoming more nationalistic and strengthening its native [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. The Jesuits were seen as an obstacle to those developments. Opposed to the expansion and influence of the Society, Alexander published an edict on December 20, 1815, expelling the Jesuits from [[Saint Petersburg]] and taking over their high school on the grounds that they were converting Russian nobles to Catholicism. Despite his ailing health and protests, Brzozowski was detained and forbidden to return to Rome. Sensing that the days of the Society in Russia were numbered, Brzozowski sent several Jesuits to Western Europe to speed up the reestablishment of the order.


==Death==
==Death==
Brzozowski died on February 5, 1820 and was buried in [[Polatsk]], Belarus. However, to make sure that the Congregation that would elect his successor would meet in Rome he had nominated an Italian, Luigi Petrucci, as his Vicar General.
Brzozowski died on February 5, 1820, and was buried in Polotsk. He had taken the precaution to nominate an Italian, Mariano Petrucci, as his Vicar General, to ensure that the Congregation to elect his successor would meet in Rome. On 13 March 1820 the Society of Jesus was expelled from the Russian Empire.
The 13 March 1820, the Jesuits were expelled from Russia.


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* INGLOT, M., ''La Compagnia di Gesù nell'impero Russo (1772-1820)'', Rome, 1997.
* ROUET de JOURNEL, M.-J., ''La Compagnie de Jésus en Russie; un collège jésuite à Saint Petersbourg (1800-1816)'', Paris, 1922.
* ZALENSKI, S., ''Les Jésuites de la Russie blanche'' (2 vol.), Paris, 1886.
* {{Wikisource1911Enc|Brzozowski, Thaddeus}}


==Bibliography==
<br>
{{EB1911 poster|Brzozowski, Thaddeus}}
{{start box}}
* Worcester SJ, T. (Ed.), (2017). Brzozowski, Tadeusz, SJ (1749–1820) in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Jesuits (p.&nbsp;124). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781139032780.002
{{succession box | before=[[Gabriel Gruber]] | title=[[Superior General of the Society of Jesus#Notes|Superior General of the Society in Russia]] | after=''restoration'' | years=1805–1814}}
* Inglot, M., ''La Compagnia di Gesù nell'impero Russo (1772–1820)'', Rome, 1997.
{{succession box | before=''suppression'' | title=[[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]] | after=[[Luigi Fortis]] | years=1814 – 1820}}
* Rouet de Journel, M.-J., ''La Compagnie de Jésus en Russie; un collège jésuite à Saint Petersbourg (1800–1816)'', Paris, 1922.
{{end box}}
* Zalenski, S., ''Les Jésuites de la Russie blanche'' (2 vol.), Paris, 1886.

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before=[[Gabriel Gruber]] | title=[[Superior General of the Society of Jesus#Notes|Superior General of the Society of Jesus In Exile (Russia)]] | after=''restoration'' | years=1805–1814}}
{{succession box | before=''suppression'' | title=[[Superior General of the Society of Jesus]] | after=[[Luigi Fortis]] | years=1814–1820}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Brzozowski, Tadeusz
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = October 21, 1749
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = February 5, 1820
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brzozowski, Tadeusz}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brzozowski, Tadeusz}}
[[Category:1749 births]]
[[Category:1749 births]]
[[Category:1820 deaths]]
[[Category:1820 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kaliningrad]]
[[Category:Clergy from Königsberg]]
[[Category:People from Königsberg]]
[[Category:18th-century Polish Jesuits]]
[[Category:People from East Prussia]]
[[Category:18th-century Polish nobility]]
[[Category:Polish Jesuits]]
[[Category:Superiors General of the Society of Jesus]]
[[Category:Superiors General of the Society of Jesus]]
[[Category:19th-century Polish Jesuits]]
[[Category:19th-century Polish nobility]]


[[de:Tadeusz Brzozowski]]
[[fr:Tadeusz Brzozowski]]
[[la:Tadeus Brzozowski]]
[[pl:Tadeusz Brzozowski (generał jezuitów)]]
[[ru:Бжозовский, Фаддей]]
[[tg:Тадеусз Брзозовски]]
[[tg:Тадеусз Брзозовски]]

Latest revision as of 04:17, 15 April 2024

For the Polish painter, see Tadeusz Brzozowski (painter).

The Very Reverend

Tadeusz Brzozowski

SJ
twentieth Superior General of the Society of Jesus
Very Rev. Tadeusz Brzozowski
Installed1805, Papal confirmation 1814[1]
Term ended5 February 1820
Predecessorvacat
SuccessorLuigi Fortis
Orders
Ordination1775
Personal details
Born
Tadeusz Brzozowski

(1749-10-21)21 October 1749
Koenigsberg, Kingdom of Prussia
Died5 February 1820(1820-02-05) (aged 70)
Polotsk, Russian Empire
BuriedPolotsk, Belarus
NationalityPolish
DenominationRoman Catholic
Alma materSlutsk, Nieswiez, Vilnius University
Coat of armsKorab
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Tadeusz Brzozowski, SJ (October 21, 1749 – February 5, 1820) was a Polish scholar, teacher, administrator and a Jesuit priest. Having secured its continuity during the suppression of the Society until its restoration, he was elected twentieth Superior General of the Society of Jesus and was its first world-wide general.[2]

Background

[edit]

Brzozowski was born in Königsberg, Kingdom of Prussia, on October 21, 1749, into a Polish family. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1765, and studied Rhetoric, Greek, French and classical literature in Slutsk (Belarus) (1767–70), followed by Philosophy and Mathematics in Nieśwież (1770–73). After the Suppression of the Order in the rest of the world on 21 July 1773 (owing to Catherine the Great, patron of "her" Jesuits, it did not apply in the Russian Empire), he continued his theological studies in Vilnius, where he was ordained priest in 1775. In effect he was no longer formally a member of the Society.[3] However, as the partitions of Poland-Lithuania progressed over the next 20 years, paradoxically the range of the Jesuits expanded temporarily along with the borders of the Russian Empire.

Return to the Society in Russia

[edit]

In 1782 Brzozowski left for Polotsk, Belarus in the Russian Empire, in order to be able to rejoin the Society, which was allowed to continue there. A gifted linguist (fluent in Latin, French, German, Russian) he translated theological works into his native Polish, such as, Dykcjonarz filozoficzny religii (a Philosophical Dictionary of Religion) by C. F. Nonnotte, Wilno 1782 and O naśladowaniu Najświętszej Maryi Panny (The Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) by A. de Rouville, Połock 1800. He was also a successful and well known preacher. In 1797 he was named Secretary of the Society and worked closely with Gabriel Lenkiewicz, Franciszek Kareu and Gabriel Gruber, the successive Vicars General of the Society in Russia. On their behalf he corresponded with the many ex-jesuits abroad who wished to rejoin the Society. At the Regional Congregation of 1802 he was made Assistant of the newly elected Superior of the Jesuits of the Russian Province, Gabriel Gruber. He had an especial devotion to the Jesuit martyr, Andrew Bobola and in 1808 he exhumed his remains from Pinsk and brought them for reburial in Polotsk. He expanded missionary activity in Mozdok, in the Caucasus (1806), Irkutsk (1810) and in Tomsk (1814). He also planned to send missionaries to China. In 1806-1810 he despatched eight Belarusian Jesuits to Boston to help foster the Society's revival there.

Superior General

[edit]

Following the death of Gruber, in 1805, the Regional (Polish) Fourth Congregation met at Polotsk, again part of Lithuania and elected Tadeusz Brzozowski as Superior General of the Society which was still functioning in the territory of Russia. The newly elected General immediately sent a message to Pope Pius VII thanking him for having restored the Society in Sicily. By then a steady stream of young men was coming to Russia to join the Society. Between 1803 and 1805, 103 candidates entered the novitiate of Polotsk, 23 of them already ordained priests. The total number of Jesuits grew to 333, mostly engaged in educational activities, in 7 high schools in Russia, but also moving into pastoral work in Latvia and Lithuania.

It became clear that the suppression of the Society would eventually be lifted. in 1812 the college in Polotsk was upgraded by Alexander I of Russia into a university academy, thus allowing affiliation of all the Jesuit schools and affording them protection from undue local political interference.

In October 1806, the "ex-Jesuits" of Maryland in America were fully incorporated into the Society and Brzozowski allowed an American novitiate to be opened with ten novices at Georgetown.[4] Later that year, Bishop Joseph-Octave Plessis of Québec wrote to exiled Pope Pius VII and to Brzozowski, begging for Jesuits to be sent from Great Britain both to Halifax Nova Scotia and also to work among the aboriginal people in Upper Canada. Brzozowski sent four men as requested, two from Russia and two from England, but the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and the dangers of travel made their mission impossible.

Internal tensions grew in the Society as non-Russian or Polish Jesuits, not being conversant with the political situation of the Russian empire, criticized Brzozowski for certain decisions he took which, in their estimation, were too liberal, such as allowing the Orthodox faith to be taught in Jesuit schools.

Restoration of the Society

[edit]

Brzozowski worked tirelessly to obtain the general restoration of the Society, both personally and through his delegate in Rome, Father Luigi Fortis SJ. On his return from Napoleonic exile to Rome, Pope Pius VII lifted the suppression of the Society on August 7, 1814.[5] Forty-one years after Clement XIV suppressed the Society, Pius VII celebrated mass in the Church of the Gesú, and formally promulgated the Papal bull of restoration, Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum. The newly reconstituted Society of Jesus deemed a general congregation unnecessary: Brzozowski retained his role and became formally Superior General of the Society of Jesus. However, Tsar Alexander prohibited Brzozowski from leaving Russia. Brzozowski therefore appointed Luigi Fortis, as his representative in Rome from 1814 until his death in 1820. Brzozowski had managed to secure the continuity of the Society from his exile in Russia.

Political complications

[edit]

The Society's restoration coincided with Russia becoming more nationalistic and strengthening its native Eastern Orthodox Church. The Jesuits were seen as an obstacle to those developments. Opposed to the expansion and influence of the Society, Alexander published an edict on December 20, 1815, expelling the Jesuits from Saint Petersburg and taking over their high school on the grounds that they were converting Russian nobles to Catholicism. Despite his ailing health and protests, Brzozowski was detained and forbidden to return to Rome. Sensing that the days of the Society in Russia were numbered, Brzozowski sent several Jesuits to Western Europe to speed up the reestablishment of the order.

Death

[edit]

Brzozowski died on February 5, 1820, and was buried in Polotsk. He had taken the precaution to nominate an Italian, Mariano Petrucci, as his Vicar General, to ensure that the Congregation to elect his successor would meet in Rome. On 13 March 1820 the Society of Jesus was expelled from the Russian Empire.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Thomas M. McCoog, SJ (2019). Pre-suppression Jesuit Activity in the British Isles and Ireland. Brill. p. 93. ISBN 978-9-0043-9529-9.
  2. ^ Robert Aleksander Maryks; Jonathan Wright, eds. (2014). Jesuit Survival and Restoration: A Global History, 1773-1900. Studies in the History of Christian Traditions (revised reprint ed.). Brill. p. 393. ISBN 978-9-0042-8387-9.
  3. ^ Bednarski, Stanisław (1937). "Brzozowski Tadeusz". Polski Słownik Biograficzny. Brożek Jan – Chwalczewski Franciszek (in Polish). Vol. 3. Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności – Skład Główny w Księgarniach Gebethner i Wolff. p. 68. Reprint: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Kraków 1989, ISBN 83-04-03291-0
  4. ^ Burson, Jeffrey D.; Wright, Jonathan, eds. (2015). The Jesuit Suppression in Global Context: Causes, Events, and Consequences. Cambridge University Press. pp. 205–238. ISBN 978-1-1070-3058-9.
  5. ^ Malachi Martin (2013). Jesuits. Simon and Schuster. p. 217. ISBN 978-1476-75188-7.

Bibliography

[edit]
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Brzozowski, Thaddeus".
  • Worcester SJ, T. (Ed.), (2017). Brzozowski, Tadeusz, SJ (1749–1820) in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Jesuits (p. 124). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781139032780.002
  • Inglot, M., La Compagnia di Gesù nell'impero Russo (1772–1820), Rome, 1997.
  • Rouet de Journel, M.-J., La Compagnie de Jésus en Russie; un collège jésuite à Saint Petersbourg (1800–1816), Paris, 1922.
  • Zalenski, S., Les Jésuites de la Russie blanche (2 vol.), Paris, 1886.
Preceded by Superior General of the Society of Jesus In Exile (Russia)
1805–1814 		Succeeded by
restoration
Preceded by
suppression
 Superior General of the Society of Jesus
1814–1820 		Succeeded by
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