Lorenzo Ricci

Lorenzo Ricci (2 August 1703 24 November 1775) was an Italian Jesuit, elected the eighteenth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was also the last before the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773.

Early life and career Ricci was born in Florence, Italy, into one of the most ancient and illustrious families of Tuscany. When very young, he was sent to Prato to the Jesuits Cicognini College. He entered the Society when he was scarcely fifteen, on 16 December 1718, at the novitiate of S. Andrea at Rome.

Having completed his studies in philosophy (1722–25) and theology (1729–34) at the Roman College of Rome, he taught at Siena and Rome. He was formally professed in August 1736. In fact this quiet and unassuming spiritual work – in particular giving the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola (a form of guided retreat) – seemed to have had his preference. In 1755, he was chosen secretary of the society.

Superior General At the 19th General Congregation, in May 1758, Ricci was elected Superior General of the Society of Jesus at the second ballot. Guilio Cordara, who lived near Ricci and seems to have known him intimately, deplored this choice: "On account of his placid nature and too even temper, I regarded him as little suited for a time when disturbance and storm seem to require extraordinary application of unusual remedies to unusual evils". Ricci himself asked to be relieved of the responsibility.

Jesuits in Portugal The crisis with the Catholic Bourbon royal courts was coming to a head. Four months after Ricci's election, an attempt was made on the life of King Joseph I of Portugal. Prime Minister Carvalho, jealous of Gabriel Malagrida's influence at court, charged the Jesuit with involvement in the plot. Malagrida was declared guilty of high treason, but, as a priest, could not be executed without the consent of the Inquisition, so he was executed for heresy instead. The Jesuits were expelled from Portugal in September 1759.

Jesuits in France The Jesuits in France had earned the enmity of the influential Madame de Pompadour. According to the Comtesse de Courson, in 1752, Pompadour had approached the Jesuits requesting to be openly admitted the sacraments, in hopes of strengthening her position and influence to the detriment of the Queen and the Dauphin. Suspecting her motives were less than spiritual, the priests demurred until such time as she should cease to be the King's mistress. Within a few years, she became one of the most ardent promoters of the destruction of the Society; the reason for her hostility suspected by many. He is buried in the crypt of the Gesù Church in Rome.

About six weeks after Ricci's death, Pope Pius VI ordered the release of Ricci's five assistants.