The Jesuits, 1534-1921 / A History of the Society of Jesus from Its Foundation to the Present Time

by Thomas J. Campbell

In February, 1782, Tchernichef, the great friend of the Society, fell from power, but his successor Potemkin showed himself even a more devoted defender. Fortunately, Father Benislawski, a former Jesuit, but now a canon, was very intimate with him and induced him to give his aid to the Society. As Bishop Siestrzencewicz had meantime become Archbishop of Mohilew, the fear was again revived that he would claim to be the religious superior of the Jesuits. Indeed, by sundry appointments to parishes, he began to reveal that such was his intention, and Archetti, the nuncio at Warsaw, urged him to persist in his attacks. To head off the danger, the Fathers had determined to proceed to the election of a Vicar General, and they obtained permission from the empress to that effect. She issued a ukase, on June 23, 1782, in which she said that the Jesuits were to be subject to the archbishop, in things that pertained to his rights and duties, but that he should be very careful not to interfere with any of the rules of the Order which were to remain intact "in as far as they agree with our civil constitutions." Siestrzencewicz was quite upset by this order, and not knowing that it had been obtained through the intervention of Potemkin, he asked the Prince Wiaziemski, who was then president of the Senate, to obtain a decree from that body subjecting the Jesuits to his jurisdiction. The Senate so ruled by a rescript dated September 12, 1781, but it was a very ill-advised proceeding on their part, for it set them in opposition both to the empress and the powerful Potemkin, besides making a rebel of the archbishop and a meddler of the nuncio.

While a spirited correspondence was going on between those two distinguished ecclesiastics about the matter, the Fathers met at Polotsk, on October 10, 1782, which happened to be the feast of St. Francis Borgia, to hold the twentieth congregation of the Society. Everything was done according to the rule which governs such assemblies, and Father Stanislaus Czerniewicz, the vice-provincial, was chosen Vicar General of the Society. In the following session, it was decreed that for those who re-entered the Society, the years spent involuntarily and by compulsion, in the world, would count as so many years in religion. With this the congregation ended, because orders had come to Polotsk, for the Vicar General to report immediately to the Empress at St. Petersburg. Accordingly, after naming Father Francis Kareu, vice-provincial, he set out for the capital and was welcomed by Catherine with the words: "I defended you thus far, and will do so till the end."

The question now arose how would the archbishop receive the delegates of the congregation which had ignored his claim to control the internal affairs of the Society. The all-powerful Potemkin had attended to that. He had called the prelate to task for daring to oppose the explicit command of the empress, and warned him of the danger of such a course of action. As Siestrzencewicz was primarily a politician, he had no difficulty in modifying his views. Moreover, Canon Benislawski, who had studied him at close range and knew his peculiarities, had taken care to prepare him for the visit of the delegates. When they arrived, he received them with the greatest courtesy and sent a letter of congratulation to the newly-elected vicar. The future of the Society was thus assured. A successor to Father Ricci had been elected; a general congregation had convened and its proceeding had been conducted in strict conformity with the Constitution. Besides, a novitiate had been established, members of the dispersed provinces had been officially recognized as belonging to the Society; and all this had been done with the tacit consent of the Sovereign Pontiff.

Father Czerniewicz remained in St. Petersburg more than three months, during which time he was frequently summoned to discuss with the empress and Potemkin matters pertaining to education, but chiefly to make arrangements for negotiations in Rome, in order to obtain the Pope's express approval of the election. The matter called for considerable diplomatic skill, for in the Acts of the congregation, some very bold expressions had been employed which might cause the failure of the whole venture. Thus, it had declared that "the Brief of Clement XIV destroyed the Society outside of Russia;" and again, that "the Vicar was elected by the authority of the Holy See." The second especially was a dangerous assertion, since the papal nuncio, Archetti, regarded the election as illegal, and even a few of the Jesuits themselves were doubtful as to the correctness of the claim. There was fear, also, about the personal disposition of the Pope on that point.

To dispose of all these difficulties Catherine sent Benislawski as her ambassador to Rome, with very positive instructions not to modify them in any way whatever. He was not to stop at Warsaw, but might call on the nuncio, Garampi, at Vienna, and also on Gallitzin, the Russian ambassador. He was to go by the shortest route to Rome, to visit no cardinals there, but to present himself immediately to the Pope. In his audience, he was to make three requests. They were: first, the preconization of Siestrzencewicz as archbishop; second, the appointment of Benislawski himself as coadjutor; and third, the approbation of the Jesuits in White Russia, and especially the recognition of the Acts of the congregation. The refusal of anyone of them was to entail a rupture of negotiations with Russia.

On February 21, 1783, Benislawski arrived in Rome, and saw the Pope on the same day. He was received most graciously; his own nomination as bishop was confirmed; but, said the Pope: "Siestrzencewicz had no right to open the novitiate." "That was done," replied Benislawski, "by order of the empress." "Since that is the case," said the Pope, "I shall forget the injury done to me by the bishop." He then asked about the Jesuits and their General, and whether the election had been formally ordered by the empress. When assured upon the latter point, he answered, "I do not object." After an interview of two hours Benislawski withdrew.

At the second audience the attitude of the Pope was cold and indifferent, for the Bourbon ambassadors had influenced him meantime. Noticing the change, Benislawski fell upon his knees and asked the Pope's benediction. "What does this mean?" he was asked. "My orders are to withdraw immediately, if my requests are not granted." That startled the Pope, and he immediately changed his tone; he spoke kindly to Benislawski and told him to put his requests in writing. All night long the faithful ambassador labored at his desk formulating each request and answering every argument that might be alleged against it. Zalenski gives the entire document (I, 386), which substantially amounted to this: "The failure of the bishop to abolish the Society in Russia; the establishment of the novitiate, and the election of the General were all due to the explicit and positive orders of Catherine. As she had threatened to persecute the Catholics of Russia and to compel the Poles to enter the Orthodox Church, it was clear that there was no choice but to submit to her demands.

"With regard to the objection that the Bourbon Princes would be angry at Catherine's support of the Jesuits, Benislawski made answer, that, 'as the empress had offered no objections to the suppression of the Order in the dominions of those rulers, she failed to see why they had any right to question her action in preserving it. She owed those kings no allegiance.' Secondly, the approval of the Society would not be a reflection on the present Pope, who had as much right to reverse the judgment of Clement XIV, as Clement XIV had to reverse the judgment of thirty of his predecessors. If none of the kings and diplomats had blamed Clement for acting as he did, why should they blame Pius VI for using his own right in the premises? Moreover, the Brief was never published in Russia, and there was not the slightest prospect that it ever would be. Finally, the empress had made a solemn promise not to harm her Catholic subjects; but she was convinced that she could not inflict a greater injury on them than to deprive their churches of priests and their schools of teachers who in her opinion were invaluable." As to the charge that the whole course of the empress was due to the suggestion of the Jesuits, Benislawski replied that "everyone knew they had petitioned her to have the Brief promulgated, and that she had told them they were asking what was not agreeable to her."

The next day the Pope read the statement, smiled and said, "You want to arrange this matter by a debate with me. But there can be no answer to your contention. Your arguments are irrefutable." Very opportunely, a letter arrived from the empress who expressed her willingness to receive a papal legate to settle the case of the Uniate Archbishop of Polotsk, and asking to have Benislawski consecrated in St. Petersburg. The letter was read to the Pope, in the presence of a number of Cardinals, to whom Benislawski was presented. The Holy Father then gave his assent to the preconization of the archbishop, and the consecration of Benislawski. "As to the third," he said, raising his voice: "Approbo Societatem Jesu in Alba Russia degentem; approbo, approbo" (that is I approve of the Society of Jesus, now in Russia; I approve, I approve). As the verbal utterances of Popes in public matters of the Church, have the same force as when they are in writing, and are designated by canonists and theologians as vivæ vocis oracula, Benislawski contented himself with this approval. Besides, fearing the machinations of the Bourbon politicians, he could not ask for more. He had won his case, and had received the Pope's assurance that the Society in Russia was not and never had been suppressed. No more was needed.

Against the immense majority of historians of every shade of opinion, Theiner in his "Pontificate of Clement XIV" denounces this account of the embassy as "a fabrication of the Jesuit Benislawski," though Benislawski was not then a Jesuit, nor did he ever re-enter the Society. Besides, although Theiner characterizes the distinguished canonist whom the Pope had just made a bishop as "a liar" and "an intriguer," he admits at the same time that he was "a virtuous man" and "a pious priest." If the account of the audience had been untrue, the Pope would certainly have been compelled to denounce it; for it was published immediately in the Florence Gazette; and the falsifier would assuredly never have received his mitre. Nevertheless, to settle the matter definitely and to allay all doubts and suspicions, Benislawski, after he was installed as Bishop of Gadara, was invited to the second congregation of the Jesuits. It met at Polotsk, on July 25, 1785, and he there made the following declaration under oath: