Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-14
TO CHOOSE "BLACK PoPE.n
American Delegate Who Will Attend
Convention Of Jesuits.

The two Jesuit provinces in this country
have just named the delegates who are to
take part in the election Of a new general
for the order. which Is to be held in Sep
TENDER. The two provincials. the Very Rev.
Joseph F. Hanselmann of the New York
Maryland province and the Very Rev. Hen
~ Moeller of the Missouri province will
take part in the election by rights accorded
to their positions The provincial Of every
Jesuit province in the world has a vote in
the election of the general. and each prov
ince is entitled to two additional votes. The
other American delegates are from the New
York-Mary!and province the Rev. William
O'Brien Pardow and the Rev. Thomas ].
Cannon. and from the Missouri province
the Rev. Joseph Grimmelsman and the Rev.
w. r. Rogers.
The meeting of the Jesuit congregation to
elect general ranks in Importance in the
Roman Catholic Church next to the con-
clave which elects a. pope. for. the Boston
Transcript explains. the Jesuit general Is
elected for life and enjoys position second
in Importance only to that Of the pontiff.
He usually is understood to WELD much in
f1uence with the pope. and for years 1t has
been customary to speak Of the general Of
this great order as the BLACK Pope" the
first word referring to the somber garb
which he wears, as distinguished from the
white garments Of the pope, and the second
to his great power and influence in the
church.
1t is generally believed that the congrega-
ton of next month will be held in or near
Rome; but the place of meeting is secret,
which is said not to be known, as yet. even
to the delegates. 1t has always been the
custom to keep the meeting place secret,
and it is said that sometimes the place is
not publicly known until after the election
has taken place. The late general of the
order. Father Martin. who died in April.
was elected in 1892 at a congregation held
TnvO1a Sn9in IF iS Understand that
delegates to the coming congregation have
been ordered to proceed to Rome; but that
is held to be no sure indication that the
congregation will be held in that city, as
the members of the order may be there in
structed to go somewhere else. even outside
of Italy.
Besides the provincial and the two 'deie-
gates from each province, those having
vote in the election of the new general are
the FIVE Assistants Of the late general,
and the vicar general Of the order, Father
Roger Freddi, who was appointed by the
late general to administer its affairs until
the congregation shall be held. In Catholic
circles both in this country and in Rome it
Is held to be possible that an American may
be chosen general. and the name of Father
Rudolph Meyer has been mentioned in this
connection. Father Meyer is prominent in
the order and has been resident In Rome for
many years, connected with the German
college there.
About one hundred will attend the congre-
CATION and the election of the general re-
ouires a majority of two-thirds. 1t Is be-
lieved by those familiar with Jesuit affairs
that there is little or no likelihood that the
new generaf will be of Italian birth. for the
reason that the interests of the order are
much greater outside of Italy than in it.
The last six generals were not Italian. The
late Father Martin was a Spaniard. It Is
because the interests of the order have so
greatly increased in this country in the last
decade that knowing ones look for the cleo
ton Of an American
The headquarters of the order have been
for years at Ffesole, near Florence, which
was the official residence of the BLACK
Pope" The late general however, resided
for most of the time in Rome, and recently
the immense quarters formerly held by the
Augustinian order in the Ludovisi neighbor-
hood in Rome have been purchased by the
Jesuits, and here will be the headquarters
Of the order in the future. The property in
cludes the Church Of st. Patrick and an un-
finished convent.