Stanislaw Czerniewicz (15 August 1728 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

– 7 July 1785) was a Lithuanian-Polish

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

priest. He was Rector of the Jesuit College in Polotsk when the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

was suppressed in 1773; in 1782, he was elected vicar general for the Jesuits in Russia in 1782 and ''de facto''

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 ...

Early career

After his Jesuit training in Lithuania – philosophy (1747–50) and theology (1753–57) at Academy of Vilnius – Czerniewicz taught grammar and poetry in the Kražiai College (1750–53) before being called to

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where he was secretary for the Polish Assistancy of the Society of Jesus (1759–68). There he got familiarised with the governance of the society. He returned to his country where he was made rector of the Jesuit College in Polotsk (now in Belarus) in 1770.

After the suppression of the Society of Jesus

The brief of

Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV ( la, Clemens XIV; it, Clemente XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in Se ...

suppressing the Society (July 1773) could not be promulgated in the Jesuit houses of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

, as the Czarina Catherina the II of Russia, a non-Catholic, strictly forbade it. She has no wish to see the Jesuits leaving their schools. There were at the time 201 Jesuits in the Russian Empire and they carried on their work as before. As rector of the largest community and school, Czerniewicz was a "reference of authority" in the group. Perplexed as to how to proceed, he sought in 1775, through indirect contacts, approval from

's successor of on the papal throne,

Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

. He rather cryptically, gave Czerniewicz to understand that he was not displeased with the situation. Czerniewicz then began receiving Jesuits from other countries in Europe (1776) and soon also received permission (1779) to open a

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether t ...

for new recruits in Polotsk.

Regional (Polish) Congregation I

As this was rather unofficial and he had no legal authority over the Jesuits, Czerniewicz requested the local bishop (in charge of religious affairs) and Catherine II permission to call a Regional Congregation to elect a vicar general of the society. This was granted. The Congregation met in 1782. On 17 October, Czerniewicz was elected vicar general with the full authority of a superior general. The opening of the novitiate and then the election of a vicar general created a diplomatic crisis between Russia and the Bourbon's courts in Europe, but Catherine defended "her Jesuits" with the silent approval of Pius VI.

The vicar general

Faithful to the Constitutions of Saint Ignatius, Czerniewicz quietly prepared the rebirth of the society, conducting a correspondence with many ex-Jesuits in a number of European countries and keeping them informed of Russian developments. His understanding of Russian mentality helped him also, as did the Society to find the right course through very difficult times. He died on 7 July 1785.

References

*S. Zalenski: ''Les jésuites de la Russie blanche'' (2 vol.), Paris, 1886. {{DEFAULTSORT:Czerniewicz, Stanislaw 1728 births 1785 deaths 18th-century Lithuanian Jesuits Vilnius University alumni Clergy from Kaunas