Councils have Condemn'd of Error the Opinion of those who maintain'd that the particular Churches of Alexandria or of Constantinople were true Churches without being United to the Bishop of Rome the common Head of the Catholick Church out of which have descended in a continual Succession all the Popes from St. Peter to this day who by the relation of St. Marcellus the Martyr fix'd his Chair at Rome by order from Jesus Christ and cemented it with his own Blood These Popes have been held without Controversie to be the Vicars of Jesus Christ by innumerable holy Doctors Greek and Latin and of all Nations they have been acknowledg'd by Anchortes Bishops and other Confessors Illustrious for Sanctity Lastly they have been Authenticated by an infinity of Miracles and by innumerable Martyrs who have dy'd in the Union and for the Faith of the holy Roman Church It was therefore with good reason that in the Council of Calcedon all the Bishops cry'd with one Voice in Saluting the holy Pope St. Leo Most Holy Apostolick Universal and that in the Council of Constance those were Anathematiz'd who deny'd the Primacy and Authority of the Bishop of Rome over all the Churches of the World These Decrees so Express and so Authentick are farther confirm'd by the Council of Florence which was held under Eugenius the Fourth and in which were present the Greeks the Armenians the Jacobites and other Nations We Define say the Fathers of this Council that the holy See Apostolick and the Bishop of Rome hath the Primacy over all the Churches in the World that he is Successor of St. Peter the Vicar of Jesus Christ the Head of the whole Church the Father and Doctor of all the Faithful that our Lord Jesus Christ hath given him in the person of St. Peter a full power to instruct to direct and to govern the Universal Church Wherefore the most Serene King David Father to your Highness with great right did formerly acknowledge by a sollemn Embassy the Church of Rome for the Mother and Mistress of all Churches And amongst the many illustrious Actions by which both he and you have recommended your Names to Posterity two there are which will outshine all the rest and for which your People ought to render immortal thanks to God Your Father is the first King of the Abyssins who put himself under the Obedience of him who holds the place of Jesus Christ upon Earth and you are the first who hath brought into your Dominions a true Patriarch a Legitimate Son of the holy See and deputed by the Vicar of Jesus Christ For if it ought to be reckon'd the highest Blessing as in effect it is to be United to the Mystical Body of the Catholick Church which is enliven'd and directed by the Holy Ghost teaching her all Truths according to the Testimony of the Evangelist If it be a great happiness to be enlightned with sound Doctrine to be settl'd and to rest upon the Foundations of the Church which the Apostle St. Paul writing to Timothy calls the House of God the Pillar and Basis of Truth to which our Lord Jesus Christ hath promis'd an Everlasting Assistance when he said to his Apostles Behold I am always with you to the end of the World as we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew These Nations have certainly great reason to thank their Saviour and Creator whose merciful Providence has made use of your Father and of your self to bestow such benefits upon them and their acknowledgment should the more shew it self in regard also of the Temporal Advantages which are likely to follow these Spiritual Blessings For we may justly hope that by the means of this Reunion with the Church your Enemies will soon be vanquish'd and your Empire enlarg'd The Priests which are sent you are indeed all but principally the Patriarch and the two Bishops of try'd Vertue and selected out of our Society for so important a Function in regard of their eminent Learning and of their perfect Charity They want neither Courage nor Zeal well to acquit themselves of their Ministry hoping that they shall Labour usefully for the Glory of God for the Conversion of Souls and for the Service of your Highness Their only desire is to imitate in some sort the Son of God who willingly suffer'd death to redeem Mankind from Eternal Damnation and who saith by the Mouth of the Evangelist I am the good Shepherd the good Shepherd gives his Life for his Sheep The Patriarch and the rest animated by the Example of our Saviour come dispos'd to relieve and gain Souls by their Counsels by their Labours and even by their Death if need shall require The more freely your Highness shall be pleas'd to open your mind and to communicate your thoughts to them the greater I hope your inward Consolation will be And for what regards the Credit to be given to what they shall say either in private or in publick your Highness is not Ignorant that the words of these Missioners sent by the Holy See and chiefly those of the Patriarch have Apostolical Authority and in some sort are no less to be credited then the voice of the Church whose Interpreters they are And in regard that all the Faithful ought to adhere to the Sentiments of the Church obey her Decrees and consult her in doubtful Cases I am perswaded that your Piety will lead you to make an Edict which may oblige all your Subjects to follow without resistance the Orders and Constitutions both of the Patriarch and of those whom he shall substitute in his place The Deuteronomy teaches us that it was the Custom among the Jews in the Controversies and Difficulties which occur'd to have recourse to the Synagogue which was the Figure and Forerunner of the Christian Church For this reason it was that Jesus Christ said in the Gospel the Scribes and Pharisees are seated on the Chair of Moses the wise Man teaches the same thing in the Proverbs Do not neglect the Precepts of your Mother This Mother is the Church And in another place pass not the bounds which your Fathers have set these Fathers are the Prelates of the Church In conclusion Jesus Christ requires of us to have so great deference to his Church that he plainly tells us by the Evangelist St. Luke He who hears you hears me and he who contemns you contemns me And by St. Matthew If he hears not the Church let him be to you as a Heathen and a Publican Hence it follows that we must not hearken to those who hold forth any thing that is not conformable to the Sense and the Interpretation of the Catholick Church of which we are admonish'd by those words of St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians But altho ' we or any Angel from Heaven should Evangelize to you otherwise then we have Evangeliz'd to you be he Anathema In fine the Testimony of the Holy Doctors the Canons of Councils the Consent and
serv'd only to confirm them in their first choice yet in deference to him they submitted to a new Election After four Days of Fasting and Pennance he was chosen the second time but he made a second endeavor to wave the Imployment He said that he would put the business into the hand of his Confessor and if he who knew all his bad inclinations should command him in the Name of Jesus Christ to submit he would then blindly obey The Fathers had great difficulty to yield to him in it They said that the will of God was sufficiently manifested and that it would be a kind of opposing it any longer to ballance upon the matter But at last his Authority carry'd it and he went to find out a Religious man of the Order of St. Francis called Father Theodosius to whom he ordinarily had used to Confess and only left him since the Holy See had confirm'd the Institute After exposing to him in a private conference both his Spiritual and Corporal Infirmities he made his Confession to him of his whole life in the three last Days of the holy Week Father Theodosius told him plainly that he resisted the Holy Ghost in resisting his Election and commanded him on the part of God to accept of the charge of General Father Ignatius did then yield and out of Obedience took upon him the Government of the Society of Jesus upon Easter-day in the year 1541. at which time they all agreed to make their solemn Profession the same Week which they did upon the Friday following being the 22th of April In this manner the Ceremony was perform'd They all went to visit the Seven Churches which are the principal Stations of Rome Being come to St. Pauls which is without the Walls of the Town Father Ignatius said Mass at the Altar of our Lady Before he took the Communion he turn'd towards the People and holding in one hand the Sacred Body of our Lord and in the other his Vows in Writing he pronounced them all with a loud voice and then took the Communion After which turning again to his Companions who were upon their Knees at the Foot of the Altar and holding five Hosts upon the Patten he receiv'd their Professions and then Communicated them They all engaged as he did to observe perpetual Poverty Chastity and Obedience according to the form of life contain'd in the Bull of their Institution They promised moreover a special Obedience to the Pope in regard of Missions set down in the said Bull and they obliged themselves to teach Children the Christian Doctrine There was this difference between the Profession of Father Ignatius and that of the others He made his Promise immediately to the Vicar of Jesus Christ and the rest made theirs to him as to their General and Chief The Mass being done they went altogether to the great Altar where the Bones of the Blessed Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul are laid and there embracing their common Father they humbly kiss'd his hand in token of their Submission and Obedience The General began his Office with Catechizing in the Church of St. Mary de Strata which Peter Codacius an Officer of the Pope and Powerful in Rome caus'd to be given to the Fathers when they yet dwelt in an hired House This is he who charm'd with their holy life quitted great Benefices and by a Spirit of retirement ranged himself among them with no other intent but of taking care of their Temporals and of procuring them Alms. Tho' the new Superior made his Christian Instructions principally for Children according to his Vow yet all sorts of People came to hear him even Men and Women of Quality Divines and Canonists He explicated in Italian the Mysteries of Faith and the Commandments of God in a plain easie way accomodated to the understanding of the People In these explications he mingled some lively touches and incitements to Piety and Devotion and tho' his Language were a little Barbarous he made such Impression upon their minds that after having heard him they went away in silence with Tears in their Eyes and Compunction in their Hearts Their sorrow was sometimes so excessive that when after the Catechism they would go to Confession they could not speak for sighing and weeping He continued this Exercise forty Days together in the same Church and 't is according to this example that the Superiors of the Society make forty Days of Catechism when they enter into their Office But whereas nothing was more essential then to regulate the Conduct of the Members of this newly born Society before making any Constitutions in exact form he drew up for the present some general Regulations I. That as much as possibly they can they should always have God before their Eyes and that they should propose the life of Jesus Christ for the Pattern of their own II. That they should look upon God in their Superiors to execute their Orders and to honor their Dignity and that they should be perswaded that obedience is a Guide which never misleads an Oracle which never deceives That they should discover to their Superior the bottom of their Souls that so they may be rightly directed That they should abhor nothing more then being their own Guide and that they should wholly mistrust self-love by so much more blind by how much it thinks it self clear-sighted III. That in the Commerce of the World they should use the circumspection of those who succor Men that are drowning and that they should take heed not to lose themselves in the endeavoring to save others That they should not only love all as their Brothers but that every one should love his Brother as himself That they should never dispute in words with obstinacy and heat which often cools Charity if it doth not put it out and when they differ in opinion that the love of truth should rule their dispute and not the vain desire of getting the better IV. That silence be exactly kept among them unless it be when necessity obliges them to break it and that when they must speak they do it in a modest and Religious way That what great things soever it should please God to work by their Ministry they should not think any thing better of themselves nor Usurp the Glory of any good Action for the Instrument is nothing by its self but derives all its Vertue from the Arm which Governs it That they should reckon Wit Eloquence Learning as nothing in comparison of Vertue and that they should never think themselves better rewarded and paid for what they do in behalf of their Nighbour then when they shall receive affronts and outrages the only recompence which Jesus Christ receiv'd from the World for his Labours and Sufferings V. That if they should fall into any publick fault which might seem to dishonor them far from losing courage they should give thanks to God for having made them know their own weakness by
himself whom Manar had preacquainted with the Matter and so Michel left a Paper of the Propositions in their hands that they might Examine them at leisure But instead of Examining them they carry'd the Papers to Father Ignatius whereupon the Father doubting no longer neither of the Doctrine nor of the Intentions of Michel inform'd the Grand Inquisitor John Peter Caraffa who was afterwards Pope of the whole Matter and at the same time Expell'd the Impostor The Inquisitor caus'd him to be Arrested and after he had been kept some Months in close Prison which oblig'd him tho' unwillingly to confess the truth he was condemn'd to the Galleys This Artifice not having succeeded with the Protestants they had recourse to another which was to send to the Fathers at Rome two great Chests of Books of which the greatest part were very proper to poison Youth Oliver Manar who open'd the Chests found that those at the top were Catholick Books and all the rest Heretical he presently advertis'd Father Ignatius of it The Father at the very first divin'd whence such an Alms should come and order'd that all the Books should be burnt and their Ashes to be thrown into the Wind as if he were afraid they should infect the House nor could he according to his own Maxims otherwise do being perswaded that all that comes from Hereticks ought to be suspected and not permitting that any of their Books should be read in the Society how good soever they might be For said he when we read a good Book writ by a bad Man after having taken pleasure in the Book we grow insensibly affected to the Author even sometimes to believe that all that such an Author writes is reasonable This he particularly apply'd to Erasmus and to such like Authors a great while before their Works were condemn'd And he grounded his Opinion upon the Authority of S. Basil who says in express terms That a Religious Person ought not only to have in horror the Doctrine of Hereticks but also not to read any Books but such as come from an Orthodox Pen and are approv'd by the Church because the Words of the Impious according to the Sentiment of the Apostle are like a Gangrene which taints and corrupts by degrees all that is sound But Father Ignatius had yet more troublesom Rencounters even with Catholicks and with a principal Prelate of the Church The Archbishop of Toledo newly declar'd himself again against the Society notwithstanding the Bulls which Approv'd the Institute and Exercises His pretence was that the Jesuits whom they call'd Theatines did intrench upon the Rights of Episcopacy by the liberty which they took of Administring the Sacraments in all Places under colour of their pretended Priviledges There was but one Colledge of the Fathers in his Diocess which was that of Alcala He one day Interdicted them all and thunder'd out a Sentence of Excommunication against all Persons that should Confess to them He commanded at the same time all the Religious and Curates within his Diocess not to suffer any of the Society either to Preach or to say Mass in their Churches and that which exceeds Imagination he suspended all the Priests in Toledo from hearing Confessions who had made the Spiritual Exercise The General far from being afflicted at this violent Persecution did in some manner rejoyce at it This new Tempest said he to Ribadeneyra is a good Omen If I am not mistaken it is an evident sign that God will be serv'd by us in Toledo For Experience has taught us that to our Society Contradictions and Persecutions always prepare the way and that the more it is oppos'd in any Place the more fruit it there produceth In the mean time he writ into Spain that all Endeavors should be us'd to satisfie the Archbishop Villanova who was Rector of the Colledge of Alcala a moderate and prudent Man made to him all manner of Submission but the Archbishop grew more inflexible by how much the Rector was more submiss All means were us'd to mollifie and appease him The Friends of the Society and especially Cardinal Francisco Menâ—za who design'd to Erect a Colledge in the Town of Burgos of which he was Bishop left no means untry'd to procure their Peace When Father Ignatius understood that nothing could prevail with the Archbishop he at last inform'd Julius the Third with what had pass'd at Toledo and also order'd the Fathers of Alcala to â—â—â—sake their Complaints to the Privy-Council of Spain The Pope caus'd a Letter to be writ to the Archbishop by Cardinal Matheo Secretary of State which imported That it was much wonder'd at in Rome that the Society of Jesus should be so ill treated at Toledo since it was in so good Esteem and so well receiv'd in all other Parts of the World On the other side the King's Council having examin'd the Bulls and the Priviledges of the order and judging that the Conduct of the Archbishop did directly oppose the Holy See they made a Declaration in favour of the Fathers The â—â—â—ter from Rome and the Declaration of the Counâ—â— brought the Prelate to reason He presently annull'd his former Acts and re-establish'd the Jesuits in all their Rights As soon as Father Ignatius had news of it he sent him his most humble thanks in a Letter full of Acknowledgment and submission and the more to gain him he promis'd that the Fathers of Alcala should make no use of their Priviledges nor receive any Person among them without his Approbation At this time the Society had two great Losses Claude le Jay dy'd at Vienna in Austria and Francis Xaverius in the Island of Sancian near China They were also in danger the same year of losing Father Francis de Borgia but after another manner and they would certainly have lost him if Father Ignatius had not preserv'd him by such means as I shall now relate Borgia upon his return out of Italy retir'd himself into Biscay and made choice of the Colledge of Ogniate to consummate his Sacrifice by renouncing the Dutchy of Gandia and all the remainders of his Greatness He chose that Place in regard of its Neighborhood to Loyola whether his Devotion led him before he came to Ogniate And it is said that entring into the Chamber where Father Ignatius was born he fell down upon his Knees and kiss'd the Ground with a Religious respect and after having given thanks to the Divine Goodness for having brought such a Man into the World he made it his Prayer that since he had taken Ignatius for his Guide and his Master he might have the Grace exactly to follow his Counsels and his Example He departed from Loyola animated with a new Spirit and he liv'd so holily that all admir'd to see in him at his very entrance into Religion consummated Sanctity When the Emperor Charles the Fifth understood that Don Francisco de Borgia of a Grandee of Spain was thus transform'd into a Jesuit he sent to
Daughter who was with her near enough to touch the Body of Father Ignatius the cure would be effected But the crowd was so great that it was not possible for them to get near the Body before it was laid into the Grave However they did not lose courage and the Mother intreated the Fathers to apply something that had belong'd to the Saint to the part affected of her Daughter Father Cornelius Vischaven did what she desir'd and in the same moment the Evil left her with all the marks and effects of it His Body remain'd in the place where it was first laid till the Year 1568 at which time it was remov'd to another part of the Church by reason of the Foundations that were there to be laid for the new Church of the Giesu built by Cardinal Alexander Farnesius But in the Year 1587 when that Church was finish'd Father Claudius Aquaviva then General translated thither the Body of the Holy Founder upon the 19th of November and plac'd it on the right side of the High Altar with this plain Epitaph upon a Marble stone Ignatio Societatis Jesû Fundatori The Blessed Institutor of the Congregation of the Oratory Philip Nerius who was at Rome when Father Ignatius dy'd spoke of him after his death as he did when he was alive He said that he was a Man fill'd with the Spirit of God that he had often seen a Resplendency in his countenance that he had learnt from him the way of mental Prayer and that all Christendom was infinitly beholding to him As soon as the news of the Fathers death was spread over Europe many eminent Persons writ to the Society and their Letters were so many Elogiums of the Saint Cardinal de la Cueva in his Extol'd his Christian prudence and said that the Church had lost in him one of her ablest Subjects The Cardinal of Ausbourg writ in these terms My very Reverend and Religious Brethren in Jesus Christ I cannot say whether the Death of our most Holy Father Ignatius has caus'd in me more joy or sadness For on one side if I consider that God hath releast him out of this miserable World to recompence his Labours it would be a kind of Impiety for our own interest to grieve at his happiness On the other side we have great cause to be afflicted seeing our selves become Orphans by the loss of such a Father who was a Refuge to us and a safe Harbuor in all our Distresses But in regard that transitory things must not enter into Competition with Eternal we comfort our selves by your Example upon our assurance that this happy Soul is at this time our Advocate with God Don John de Vega Viceroy of Sicily expres'd his Sentiments in the Language of a Soldier The Servant of God said he has left behind him Trophies of his Vertue which time will never destroy as it has destroy'd the proudest Monuments of Human Vanity Me thinks I have before my Eyes the Solemnity with which a great and holy Captain is receiv'd into Heaven loaded with the spoils of Hell who has gain'd so many signal Victories upon the Enemy of Mankind in reducing to the Christian Faith by his Conduct and the Valor of his Soldiers so many Barbarous Nations who before knew not the Name of Jesus Christ It also appears to me that upon a just account his Standard may be rais'd in Heaven with those of St. Dominick of St. Francis and of the other Saints to whom God has given the strength to overcome the World and to save a great number of Souls I must not omit the Letter which the Regular Clericks of St. Paul commonly call'd Barnabites writ from Milan to Father Laynez Vicar of the Society And I think it worth the while to set it down as it lies faithfully Translated out of the Latin The news of the Decease of Venerable Father Ignatius of happy memory has caus'd great sorrow in us both upon your account and of all the holy Society of Jesus who have lost such a Master and such a Father and upon our own who also have always look'd upon him as our Father There is certainly great reason for us to be afflicted to have him taken from us in a time when good Men are so scarce but his happiness ought to out ballance with us our own loss For Jesus Christ is the life of the just and their Death is their gain because it brings them to their happiness of being with Jesus Christ when they are loosn'd from the Fetters of the Body Thus did this holy Soul going out of Prison together with St. Peter upon the first day of August take its place in Heaven We only ought to fear least our Sins may have been the cause of our losing him and least his death in our regard may have been a punishment from God like that of King Josias who was taken out of the World before the wrath of Heaven broke out upon the Jewish people However it were such was the Will of God and may his holy Name be prais'd At least he is not wholly lost to us This blessed Man who has done so great service to Christendom will always live in the memory of the Faithful and his Name will be glorious in all the parts of the Earth where the Name of Jesus Christ is known It was under the Conduct of this Governor that the Christian Faith was carry'd even to the Antipodes and that in those unknown Climates are at this time to be seen thousands of Souls Converted and a new Church every way resembling the Antient Erected of new Apostles and of new Martyrs He has sent his Children before him and after having himself taken great pains in the Service of Jesus Christ he follows them worn out and consum'd like them with Labour and Fatigue opprest with the care of so many Churches and to conclude a Martyr in Peace He has been for several Years the support of your Family and of many others or rather a common Father of all good People What sad Hearts has he not reliev'd by his Discourses full of Sweetness and Charity To whom has he not given profitable Counsel in difficult matters and Relief in greatest necessities He has been the Foot of the Lame the Eye of the Blind the Refuge of the Poor and the Comfort of the sorrowful May Heaven reward him for all his good Works On our parts we cease not to offer to God the holy Sacrifice of the Altar for so holy a Soul which as we verily believe at this present enjoys the Beatifick sight of God Let others strew Flowers upon his Tomb the proper Offerings of Priests are the holy Mysteries At least in paying him these last duties now that he is deliver'd from the miseries of corrupt Mortality we shall testifie to the end the affection we bore him whilst he liv'd amongst us To conclude we desire you to receive these Tears of Brotherly love as most