CARAFA, Vincenzo. — Seventh Superior General of the Society of Jesus, born in Andria to Maddalena Carafa (q.V. above) on 9 May 1585, died in Rome on 8 June 1649. Having entered the Order in 1604, he gave throughout his life and in the various offices of novice master, rector, and provincial an outstanding example of virtue and zeal. He distinguished himself in his love for the poor, in his care for the sick (he had vowed to dedicate himself to the care of the plague-stricken), in his ministry to the most needy souls, preaching on the galleys, in public squares, and in prisons, without neglecting the higher classes. Indeed, he reorganized the Congregation of the Nobles of Naples so that they might combine personal perfection with a broad social apostolate through various works of charity and beneficence. He also established in all the churches of the Order the "Confraternity of the Good Death," which was immediately approved and favored by the Popes.
His generalate (he was elected to the office on 7 January 1646) was brief but entirely devoted to confirming and promoting the primitive spirit of the Order. During the famine and plague in Rome in 1648 and 1649, he skillfully organized works of charity, even feeding for two months several thousand poor people, and he placed himself at the service of the afflicted until he himself contracted the disease, which led to his death.
Besides his letters and instructions addressed to his subjects, Carafa published several ascetical booklets under the name of Luigi Sidereo: *Fascetta di mirra* (Rome 1635); *Camino del cielo* [4 booklets, Naples 1640; the second of these was placed on the Index [20 June 1651] *donec corrigatur*, on account of certain titles given to the Virgin: cf. the Latin version, Cologne 1660, preface and corrected index, Rome 1654]; *Itinerario all'altra vita* (ibid. 1643); *Il cittadino del cielo* (ibid. 1643); *Il peregrino della terra* (ibid. 1645).