FORTIS, LUIGI. – Jesuit, 20th Superior General of the Order, born in Verona on 26 February 1749, died in Rome on 27 January 1829. Caught up in the suppression of the Society (1773) while teaching literature at the College of Ferrara, he moved, at the invitation of Duke Ferdinando, to Parma, to the College of the Nobles. In 1794 he re-entered the Society of Jesus; he was subsequently provincial of Rome and vicar of the Superior General, who was detained in Russia. He was therefore well trained in the art of government when, on 18 October 1820, he was elected Superior General of the Order.
The times, in fact, were still turbulent, and the Jesuits had many adversaries even in Rome itself, indeed within their own ranks, who dreamed of compromising changes and reforms. F., who knew how to combine serene affability with paternal energy and vigorous industriousness, passed the test excellently: the new impetus given to the formation of novices and students and to the practical direction of teachers and preachers was matched by a notable increase in the number of religious, so much so that new divisions of the provinces soon became necessary. Meanwhile, in the Papal States, the Roman College was returned to him (1824), as was the direction of the College of the Nobles (1826) and the reinstatement of the German College (1825), in addition to the foundation of the College of Spoleto (1825), alongside those already existing in Fano, Orvieto, Forlì, Ferentino, and Tivoli. By the bull Plura inter, Leo XII confirmed the Order’s ancient privileges in 1826 and added new ones. Houses and colleges were likewise returned in Piedmont, Sardinia, Milan, Naples, and Modena. In the other nations of Europe, the work, continually increasing, was hindered by ever-new difficulties on the part of its adversaries; there were even proscriptions and exiles, as in Spain and Russia; but the proscribed served to meet the needs of other countries. At F.’s death, the Society of Jesus already numbered 9 provinces and 2 highly promising missions in the United States: that of Marvland (1823) and that of Missouri (1829).