Jesuits in the crosshairs: when the habit…endangers the monk

Persecuted, insulted, beaten up, tried and killed: there have been many episodes in history in which Jesuits have been subjected to repercussions, even fatal ones; in some cases they are well-known episodes, in others less well-known but worthy of further investigation.

In our column we recalled the 1858 Easter episode, during which – because of a false report – the Jesuits were accused of the theft of a sacred icon, dragged into the public square, threatened and beaten.

There are many similar episodes, often linked to particular historical events.

With the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, for example, the Jesuits were dispersed, persecuted in many places around the world, sometimes forced to abandon the religious habit and live as laymen.

During the process of national unification on several occasions, the fathers were forced to abandon their residences and colleges, temporarily during the 1930s and in 1848, definitively after 1860 with the birth of the Kingdom of Italy and the confiscation of the ecclesiastical assets.

The diary of Loreto’s house, for example, recounts in some dramatic passages the entry of Piedmontese troops into the city, their approach to the boarding school, the feverish activities of the fathers busy getting the remaining boarders home and handing over valuables to trusted persons. The college would be occupied by the troops and turned into a military hospital.

In the missions, many Jesuits were forced to abjure their faith, often losing their lives because they were persecuted by local governments, as well as during the world wars and in more recent times.

Just to mention a few examples, let us recall the story of Fr Fausti and recently that of Fr Dall’Oglio.

Wearing a habit, therefore, did not shield religious from possible risks, even here on Italian soil.

Today in particular we remember the relationship – initially conflicting – that characterised the return of the Jesuits to Brescia and their desire to open a college in the city, which was repeatedly hindered by the government and some citizens.

The college was first opened in the late 1830s but closed in 1848; a subsequent attempt was made possible by an inheritance for the benefit of the Jesuits of Bergamo, the college was reopened in 1854 but, by then close to the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, it lived for only a few years, closing in 1859.

It was not until 1884, thanks to Giuseppe Tovini, that the Brescia College, known as the Arici, was reopened. It would have a long life, so long that it still exists today as a parish school. The Arici College was run by the Society of Jesus until 1955, when management and ownership passed to the diocese, which still administers the institute.

After 1848, when the Jesuits were very active, together with the bishop, benefactors and city magistrates, in trying to restore the College, a number of episodes occurred that endangered not only the fathers’ stay in the city, but also their lives.

As the sources in the archives recall, after it became known in the city that the bequest had been made to the Jesuits, there were “strange and painful rumours” and even an anonymous letter arrived, addressed to one of the Society’s benefactors in Brescia.

You can see it in the photo accompanying this column, an anonymous writer addressed as follows:

“The city of Brescia congratulates itself on the happy concession obtained for the rascal Jesuits, as an impostor you are; everyone knows you for a bad nobleman, God willing, that even the Superiors should know you for the rascal in dearness that you are. Hell awaits you.

The letter, which is already characterised by a rather gloomy tone, ends with ‘you are under control’. Surely the fathers did not give too much weight to the letter, but a later episode must have frightened them not a little.

Other documents tell us that one night, by an unknown hand, a bomb was planted under the college

“The explosion of the bomb caused the windows of the entire district to shatter and […] frightened the city. Archduke Ranieri Niceri, who was in Brescia, sent word to the PP. that they should leave Brescia and save themselves by going to Innsbruck’.

The Jesuits managed not to be intimidated, the college, once reopened in 1854 and later in 1884 had an ever increasing number of boys enrolled, managing to consolidate a positive bond with the city of Brescia, it still exists today, no longer run by the Society of Jesus but by the diocese.

Maria Macchi