Not only did he comfort them verbally, but he issued as many as one hundred and thirty-two briefs and Bulls, in each of which some favor was conferred on the Society. He beatified seventy-seven Jesuits and canonized three of them. He gave the College of Tephernatum to the Society and endowed it richly. In 1850 he ordered Father General, who was hesitating because of the difficulty of the work, to establish the "Civiltà Cattolica." In 1851 he built and endowed a college at Valiterno, and gave them another at Sinigaglia. He entrusted to them the Collegium Pio-Latinum Americanum, a confidence in their ability which was reaffirmed in 1908 by Pius X when he said: "For fifty years this college has been of singular advantage to the Church by forming a learned body of holy bishops and distinguished ecclesiastics."
As for Leo XIII, he was during his entire life intimately associated with the Society. "You Jesuits have enjoyed the great privilege," he once said to a Father of the Roman Province, "of having had saints for Generals. I knew Father Fortis; he was a saint. I knew Father Roothaan intimately; he was a saint. I was long acquainted with Father Beckx; he was a saint. And now you have Father Anderledy."
On February 25, 1881, he gave to the college at Beirut in Syria the power of conferring degrees in philosophy and theology. Four years later when there was question of a new edition of the third volume of the Institute, and Father Anderledy had asked His Holiness to re-affirm the ancient privileges of the Society, Leo XIII replied with the Brief "Dolemus inter," which is regarded by the Society as one of its great treasures. After expressing his sorrow for the persecution which it was just then suffering in France, the Pope says: "In order that our will with regard to the Society of Jesus may be more thoroughly understood, we hereby declare that each and every Apostolic letter which concerns the establishment, the institution and confirmation of the Society of Jesus and which has been published by our predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs, beginning with Paul III of happy memory, up to our own time either by briefs or Bulls, and whatever is contained in them or follows from them and which either directly or by participation with other religious orders has been granted to the Society and has not been abrogated or revoked in whole or in part by the Council of Trent and other Constitutions of the Apostolic See, namely, its privileges, immunities, exemptions and indults, we hereby confirm by these letters, and fortify them by the strength of our Apostolic authority and once more concede.... Let these letters be a witness of the love which we have always cherished and still cherish for the illustrious Society of Jesus which has been most devoted to Our Predecessors and to Us; which has been the fruitful mother of men who are distinguished for their holiness and wisdom, and the promoter of sound and solid doctrine, and which, although it suffered grievous persecution for justice sake, has never ceased to labor with a cheerful and unconquerable courage in cultivating the vineyard of the Lord. Let this well-deserving Society of Jesus, therefore, which was commended by the Council of Trent itself and whose accumulated glory has been proclaimed by Our Predecessors, continue in spite of the multiplied attacks of perverse men against the Church of Jesus Christ to follow its Institute in its fight for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls. Let the Society continue in its efforts to bring to pagan nations and to heretics the light of truth, to imbue the youth of our times with virtue and learning, and to inculcate the teachings of the Angelical doctor in our schools of philosophy and theology. Meantime, embracing this Society of Jesus, which is most beloved by Us, We impart to its Father General and his vicar and to all and each of its members our Apostolic benediction."
On the occasion of his golden jubilee in 1888, he showed his esteem for the Society by canonizing Peter Claver, and when the Fathers went to express their gratitude for this mark of affection, he replied that the Society had always been dear to the Sovereign Pontiffs, considering it as they did to be a bulwark of religion, and a most valiant legion that was always ready to undertake the greatest labors for the Church and the salvation of souls. To himself personally it had always been very dear. He had shown this affection as soon as he was made Pope, by making a cardinal of Father Mazzella, whose virtue and doctrine he held in the highest esteem, and by employing Cardinal Franzelin as long as he lived in the most important and most secret negotiations. Neither of whom ever waited for the expression of his wish. A mere suggestion sufficed. He then began to speak of his boyhood in the College of Viterbo, where he had learned to love the Jesuit teachers, and he went on to say that his affection had increased in the Roman College under such eminent masters as Taparelli, Manera, Perrone, Caraffa and others whom he named. He spoke enthusiastically of Father Roothaan, and then reverting to Blessed John Berchmans whom he had canonized, he told how his devotion to the boy saint began in his early college days of Viterbo.
In 1896 he showed his approval of the Society's theology by giving it the Institutum Leoninum at Anagni, and in the Motu proprio which he issued on that occasion, he said: "To the glory which the Society acquired even in its earliest days among learned men, by its scientific achievements and the excellent work it accomplished in doctrinal matters, must be added the art which is so full of cleverness and initiative of instilling knowledge and piety in the hearts of their scholars. Such has been their reputation throughout their history, and we recall with pleasure that we have had the opportunity of studying under the most distinguished Jesuits. Hence, as soon as by the Providence of God we were called to the Supreme Pontificate, we asked more than once that young men, especially those who were to consecrate themselves to the Church, should be trained by the members of the Society, both in our own city and in distant countries of the world. We recall especially in this connection their work among the Basilians of Galicia and in the Xaverian Seminary which we established at Kandy in the East Indies. Hence, wishing to inaugurate an educational institution in our native city of Anagni, we cast our eyes upon the members of the Society and in neither case have we been disappointed."
The mention of the Ruthenian Basilians refers to an extremely delicate work entrusted to the Jesuits. Something had gone wrong in the Basilian province of Ruthenia, and at the request of the bishops and by command of the Pope, a number of Galician Jesuits took up their abode in the monastery of that ancient and venerable Order, and after twelve years of labor restored its former fervor. One scarcely knows which deserves greater commendation: the prudence and skill of those who undertook the difficult task or the humility and submission of those who were the objects of it. When the end had been attained, the Jesuits asked to be relieved of the burden of direction and government, and far from leaving any trace of resentment behind them, it was solemnly declared by a general congregation of the Basilian monks that the link of affection which had been established between the two orders was to endure forever. The second apostolic work alluded to by the Pope in this Brief of 1897, was the Pontifical Seminary for all India which he had built on the Island of Ceylon and entrusted to the Belgian Jesuits.
In 1887, he had established a hierarchy of thirty dioceses in the Indies, and as a native clergy would have to be provided, an ecclesiastical seminary was imperative. The Propaganda was therefore commissioned to erect the buildings and provide for the maintenance of the teachers, and in virtue of the command 250 acres of land were bought in 1892 near the city of Kandy on the Ampitiya Hills. Father Grosjean, S. J., was appointed superior and began his work in a bungalow. It took five years before any suitable structures could be provided. The course of studies included three years of philosophy and four years of theology. There is now a staff of eleven professors and they have succeeded in overcoming a difficulty which seemed at first insurmountable, namely, the grouping together under one roof of a number of men who were of different castes and of different races. The bishops held off for a time, and in the first year only one diocese sent its pupils; three years later, seven were represented and now there are one hundred seminarians from all parts of India. They are so well trained that it is a rare thing for them not to satisfy their bishops when they return as priests. "The project of the great Pontiff, Leo XIII," says the Belgian chronicler, "seemed audacious but the results have justified it."
The Fathers found another friend in Pius X. They knew him when he was Bishop of Mantua, and he not only frequented their house but used to delight to stand at the gate distributing the usual dole to the poor. He enjoyed immensely the joke of the coadjutor brother who said, "Bishop Sarto (sarto means tailor) will make a fine garment for the Church when he is Pope;" though the holy prelate never dreamt of any such honor in those days or even when he was Patriarch of Venice. When he went to his new see, he took his Jesuit confessor with him, and there, as at Mantua, he was at home with the community and found particular delight in talking to the brothers. When Farther Martín lost his arm in consequence of an operation for sarcoma, the Pope gave him permission to celebrate Mass. "I tried it myself to see if it were possible," he said, "and I found it could be done without much difficulty, so I give permission to Father General to offer the Holy Sacrifice, provided another priest assists him." When the new General, Father Wernz, and his associates presented themselves to the Pope after the election, he thanked God for having given him the Society, which he described as "a chosen body of soldiers, who were skilled in war, trained to fight, and ready at the first sign of their leader." He gave a further proof of the trust he had in them by putting into their hands the Pontifical Biblical Institute, which was part of the general purpose he had in view when, in 1901, he organized the Biblical Commission already described.
Apart from the esteem manifested by the Sovereign Pontiffs for the Society itself as a religious order, their personal regard for each successive General is worthy of note. Thus Pius VII, on being informed of the election of Father Brzozowski as General, immediately expressed his gratification by letter "that the Society had chosen a man of such merit and virtue." Leo XII, as we have said, lived on the most intimate and affectionate terms with Father Fortis. Only his brief career as Pontiff prevented him from giving more positive proofs of his affection. The same may be said of Pius VIII, whose term was even shorter than that of Leo XII. During that time, however, he lavished favors on the Society. Gregory XVI made Father Roothaan his intimate friend and gave him any favor he asked, and Pius IX expressed the wish that "the Society would elect a General of equal prudence and wisdom, and who, like Roothaan, would be a man according to the heart of God." The amiable Father Beckx was always welcomed by Pius IX and their intercourse with each other was almost one of familiarity. When the General was on his death-bed, Leo XIII said to the Roman provincial: "I am deeply moved by the illness and suffering of Father Beckx for whom I have always entertained a great regard and even a filial affection. I most willingly send him my blessing; tonight in his pain and agony, I shall be at his side in spirit and aid him with my prayers."
In Father Beckx's successor, Father Anderledy, Leo XIII had absolute confidence. So too, Father Martín's return to Rome from Fiesole was made an occasion of great rejoicing for the Pope, who used to ask Cardinal Aloysius Massella good humoredly: "Why don't you give up your office and be a Jesuit?" When Father Martín presented himself for an audience in times of trouble, Leo would say to him affectionately: "Come here, Father General and sit beside me so that we can talk over our sorrows; for your sufferings are mine."