Mutio_Vitelleschi_-_Ordensgeneral_der_Jesuiten

Mutio Vitelleschi (2 December 1563 – 9 February 1645) was the sixth Superior General of the Society of Jesus and member of the Vitelleschi noble family. Although he was destined for a general ecclesiastical career, a growing desire to enter the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

culminated in his taking private vows to enter the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

. His parents opposed this, possibly because of the promise not to seek ecclesiastical office or status that Jesuits make. However he was able to receive permission from

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

, a strong supporter of the Jesuits, a concession to enter the novitiate against his family's will.

Work

Vitelleschi taught

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

in 1588–1589,

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

in 1589–1590, and

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

in 1590–1591; later he was professor of theology, then prefect of studies and finally he was elected general of the Society of Jesus in 1615. His lectures on natural philosophy include ''Physics'', ''De caelo'', ''De generatione'', and ''Meteorology''.

Early missions in the Society

After entering the novitiate on 15 August 1583, he taught in the

Roman College The Roman College (, ) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school through university level and moved to seve ...

, and then was appointed rector of the

English College, Rome The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English Colleg ...

, enjoying two stints (1592–1594, and 1597–1598). He was also Provincial of the then Neapolitan Province, and later the Roman Province. Apart from his fame as a good teacher and orator, the only historical details that we have from these times are a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

that he delivered to Pope Gregory, on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

in 1590, on the

passion of Christ The Passion (from latin language, Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy ...

Vitelleschi in fiction

He is portrayed positively as a minor figure in the fictional

1632 series The ''1632'' series, also known as the 1632-verse or ''Ring of Fire'' series, is an alternate history book series and Spin-off (media), sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by American author Eric Flint and published by Ba ...

, also known as the 1632-verse or Ring of Fire series, an alternate history book series, created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by historian

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed on ' ...

Sources

* Wallace, William A., ''Galileo's Early Notebooks: The Physical Questions'' (University of Notre Dame Press, 1977), pp. 18–19.

External links

Muzio Vitelleschi in the Historical Archives of the Pontifical Gregorian University
1563 births 1645 deaths 16th-century Italian Jesuits 17th-century Italian Jesuits Rectors of the English College, Rome Superiors General of the Society of Jesus {{Italy-RC-clergy-stub