PIGNATELLI, GIUSEPPE MARIA, blessed. — Jesuit and first organizer of the restored Society of Jesus in Italy, born at Saragossa into the Italian family of the princes of Monteleone on 27 December 1737; died at Rome on 15 November 1811.
He entered the Order in 1753 and was ordained a priest in 1762. He devoted himself zealously to the apostolate at Saragossa, to such an extent that he was called the “father of the hanged” and the “father of the markets.” When the Jesuits were expelled from Spain in 1767, although he could have remained there out of consideration for his family, he did not wish to leave his confrères; instead, he led a group of 600 of them into exile, first to Civitavecchia, then to S. Bonifacio in Corsica, and subsequently to Ferrara, encouraging and supporting them especially with the help of his sister, the countess of Acerra. When the Order was suppressed in 1773, Fr. P. withdrew with his brother Nicola, also a Jesuit, to Bologna, continuing his apostolate. Later, in 1793, when Duke Ferdinando of Parma, with the help of the Jesuits of Russia, founded a new house for the Fathers in his states, Fr. P. was invited there and renewed his vows. In 1799 he became master of novices at Colorno; in 1803, provincial of Italy, with his seat at Naples, and thereafter, from 1806, at Rome. Under his direction, the colleges of Rome, Orvieto, and Tivoli, as well as several residences of the Fathers, were restored; he also helped bring about the return of his confrères to Sardinia. A “model of manly and robust holiness” (Pius XI), he was the link between the old and the new Society of Jesus. He was beatified on 21 May 1933. Feast day: 28 November.