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Saint Joseph Pignatelli
Image: Grentidez · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Saint Joseph Pignatelli

Jesuit who kept the Society alive during its suppression

Rank
Saint
Kind
Priest, Religious
Life
1737 – 1811
Era
19th century
Feast
14 November
Countries
Spain, Italy
SpainItaly

Life story

Joseph Pignatelli was born on 27 December 1737 in Zaragoza, Spain, into a noble family of Neapolitan origin. He entered the Jesuit novitiate at Tarragona on 8 May 1753 and was ordained a priest in the week before Christmas 1762. In April 1767 King Charles III expelled the Jesuits from Spain; he chose to go into exile with his brethren rather than keep the privileges of his family. Elderly superiors delegated their authority to him, so he became the leader of about six hundred Jesuits on the road through Corsica and Genoa to the region of Ferrara.

On 21 July 1773 Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society by the brief Dominus ac Redemptor noster. Pignatelli lived in Bologna and stayed in touch with scattered Jesuits for years, while the Society survived in Russia because Catherine the Great did not publish the brief. He sought readmission there; in 1793 he came to Parma at the invitation of Duke Ferdinand, and on 6 July 1797, aged sixty, he renewed his vows. From 1799 he was novice master at Colorno, and in the early 1800s he served as provincial of Italy.

When French troops occupied Parma in 1804, he and his brethren moved to Naples, where a brief dated 30 July 1804 allowed the Society to work in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He later went to Rome, and sources credit him with helping the Society's restoration in Sardinia in 1807. He died in Rome on 15 November 1811 (one source gives 11 November). Pope Pius VII restored the whole Society in 1814. Pignatelli was beatified in 1933 and canonized by Pius XII on 12 June 1954.

Works and witness

  • Entered the Jesuits in 1753 and was ordained in late 1762
  • Went into exile with his brethren when the Jesuits were expelled from Spain in 1767
  • Stayed in contact with scattered Jesuits after the 1773 suppression
  • Renewed his vows at Parma in 1797 and served as novice master and provincial
  • Died in 1811; canonized on 12 June 1954

Saints from the same country

Saint Dominic, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Francis Xavier

References

  • Jesuits Global, 'Saint Joseph Pignatelli' (jesuits.global)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.