Claudio Aquaviva (September 14, 1543—January 31, 1615) was an Italian churchman, and was the fifth general of the Society of Jesus. He is considered to be one of the greatest leaders, with Jesuit membership increasing from 5,000 to 13,000 during his office. September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... // Events February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... see also Holy Orders The following terms have traditional meanings for the Anglican Church, and possibly beyond: A churchman is in principle a member of a church congregation, in practice someone in holy orders. ... The Society of Jesus (Societas Iesu/Jesu (S.J.) in Latin) is a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in direct service to the Pope. ...

Early Life

Claudio was born at Naples, the youngest son of nobleman Giovanni Antonio Donato d'Aragona, the Duke of Atri. After initial studies of humanities (Latin, Greek and Hebrew) and Mathematics), he studied Jurisprudence in Perugia, and then he was appointed as Papal Chamberlain by Pope Pius IV. Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 6 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Mathematics Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mathematics Look up Mathematics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mathematics Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles — A collection of articles on various math topics, with interactive Java... Jurisprudence is the scientific study of law through a philosophical lens. ... Perugia (population 150,000) is the capital city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ... Pius IV, né Giovanni Angelo Medici (March 31, 1499 – December 9, 1565), pope from 1559 to 1565, was born of humble parentage in Milan, unrelated with the Medicis of Florence. ...

First Contacts with Jesuits

He had heard of the Society of Jesus through his friendship with Francis Borgia and Juan de Polanco. He was particulary impressed by the works of the Early Companions during the Plague in 1566 and decided to join the order in 1567.With the blessing of Pius V he asked the then General Borja to be admitted to the noviceship. After completing his studies, he ascended the ranks quickly, his high administrative gifts marking him out for the highest posts. He soon became the provincial superior of Naples and then of Rome; and during this office he offered to join the Jesuit mission to England that set out under Robert Parsons in the spring of 1580. Saint Francis Borgia, depicted performing an exorcism, served as the third Superior General. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ... Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,823,807 almost 4,000,000 1... Robert Parsons (sometimes spelled Persons) (born June 24, 1546, Nether Stowey, Somerset, England, died April 15, 1610, Rome) was a Jesuit priest of equal contemporary fame with Edmund Campion. ...

General Congregation IV

Upon the death of Everard Mercurian on August 1 1580, the Fourth General Congregation was called for Feb 7th 1581. Claudio was unanimously elected the next General, being then only thirty-seven years old, to the great surprise of Gregory XIII.; but the extraordinary political ability he displayed, and the vast increase that came to the Society during his long generalate, abundantly justified the votes of the electors. Everard Mercurian was the fourth general of the Society of Jesus. ... Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ...

Achievments as General

He, together with Lainez, may be regarded as the real founder of the Society as it is known to history. A born ruler, he secured all authority in his own hands, and insisted that those who prided themselves on their obedience should act up to the profession. In his first letter "On the happy increase of the Society" (25th of July 1581), he treats of the necessary qualifications for superiors, and points out that government should be directed not by the maxims of human wisdom but by those of supernatural prudence(fortiter in re, suaviter in modo!). He successfully quelled a revolt among the Spanish Jesuits, which was supported by Philip II., and he made use in this matter of Parsons. A more difficult task was the management of Sixtus V., who was hostile to the Society. By consummate tact and boldness Aquaviva succeeded in playing the king against the pope, and Sixtus against Philip. For prudential reasons, he silenced Mariana, whose doctrine on tyrannicide had produced deep indignation in France; and he also appears to have discountenanced the action of the French Jesuits in favour of the League, and was thus able to secure solid advantages when Henry IV. overcame the confederacy.

During his period as General, Jesuit Missions were set up in Paraguay, and he promoted the Jesuit Missions situated throughout Europe. A satellite composite image of Europe // Etymology Picture of Europa, carried away by bull-shaped Zeus. ...

The Ratio Studiorum

To him is due the Jesuit system of education in the book Ratio atque institutio studiorum (Rome, 1586). But the Dominicans denounced it to the Inquisition, and it was condemned both in Spain and in Rome, on account of some opinions concerning the Thomist doctrines of the divine physical premotion in secondary causes and predestination. The incriminated chapters were withdrawn in the edition of 1591. In the fierce disputes that arose between the Jesuit theologians and the Dominicans on the subject of grace, Aquaviva managed, under Clement VIII. and Paul V., to save his party from a condemnation that at one time seemed probable. He died at Rome on the 3lst of January 1615, leaving the Society numbering 13,000 members in 550 houses and 15 provinces. The subsequent influence exercised by the Jesuits, in their golden age, was largely due to the far-seeing policy of Aquaviva, who is undoubtedly the greatest general that has governed the Society. The Ratio Studiorum, 1598 The Ratio Studiorum (Latin: Plan of Studies) often designates the document that formally established the globally influential system of Jesuit education in 1599. ...

Everard Mercurian was the fourth general of the Society of Jesus. ... The Very Reverend Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. serves as the current Superior General. ... Events January 16 - English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism April 4 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. July 26 - The Northern Netherlands proclaim their independence from Spain in the Oath of Abjuration. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Early Life before the Jesuits Mutio (Muscio) Vitelleschi was the son of a noble Roman family, born on December 2nd in 1563 in Rome. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.