Carlo Emanuele Di Savoia – From the Crown of the Kingdom of Sardinia to the Novitiate of S. Andrea al Quirinale.
Scholars, teachers, sometimes so young as to be only students… there are many different ‘careers’ or assignments undertaken by Jesuits before entering the Society, one of them was even a king.
Today we retrace the last years of life of a member of the Savoy dynasty, crown prince, king, then resigned and finally…Jesuit: Carlo Emanuele Di Savoia.
Heir to the lineage, King of Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel reigned from 1796 to 1802, when he was forced to abdicate, leaving the throne to his brother Victor Emmanuel I.
After the death of his wife, Charles Emmanuel decided to enter the novitiate of the Society of Jesus of the Roman Province, at S. Andrea al Quirinale, despite his advanced age, a choice he was not able to make immediately, as he himself partly recounts in drawing up the document for entry into the novitiate.
In fact, it is Charles Emmanuel himself, some documents of whom remain in his personal file, no. 2558, who tells the story of his entry into the novitiate, in 1815, just a year after the reconstitution of the Society of Jesus after the period of suppression.
The novice Charles died at St. Andrea al Quirinale on 6 October 1819, remembered by some of his brethren who left handwritten memories, as a very pious and humble man, so much so that during his novitiate years he “never allowed any priest to kiss his hand and if he was kissed by surprise, it was almost as if he would go into convulsion”.
He was a shy presence, so much so that both the Province’s historical catalogues and the registers in the novitiate do not include his name among those carrying out the novitiate, perhaps a request from Charles Emmanuel himself, who is then recorded in the 1820 catalogue – relating to 1819 – among the deceased only by the initials of the names.
The province’s register of deceased persons, on the other hand, records his death and burial. He rests in the Church of S. Andrea al Quirinale.
A painting depicting Charles Emmanuel at prayer, a gift from the Savoy family to the Society of Jesus, is kept at the residence.
The historical archive preserves the autograph vows of Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, some letters and memoirs written by the brothers after his death. A photo of the painting and Charles Emmanuel’s signature are attached.
Maria Macchi
