Superior General of the Society of Jesus
The superior general of the Society of Jesus is the leader of the Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position sometimes carries the nickname of the Black Po ...
which he governed from 4 July 1751 to 4 May 1755.
Formation and early career
Visconti was born in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Italy. A student of the Parma Jesuit school, he joined the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in 1702, in spite of his family opposition. After the usual spiritual formation and Philo-Theological training, Visconti was a teacher of Letters for twenty years. In addition, he was professor of
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. In his spiritual ministry he was giving special attention to the strengthening of the Marian Congregations (nowadays known as the '' Christian life community''). For three years (1732–35) he was provincial of Milan. In 1737 he was called to Rome as Assistant of