Everard Mercurian

Everard Mercurian (1514, Marcourt (Belgium) - August 1st 1580, Rome) is the 4th Supérieur General of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

Youth and Formation

Born `Lardinois' in a simple family from farmers, in Marcourt in the Belgian Luxembourg (close to Rock-in-Ardenne), it signed of Marcour (in Latin mercurianus ) from where the name which remained to him in the history. He worked the ground until the 20 years age before beginning studies, initially close to the priest of Marcourt. Feeling called with the Sacerdoce it was sent in 1536 to the college of the Frères of the common life to Liege where it accepted a solid religious and literary formation. Then it was philosophy with the the University of Louvain (`Maître be Arts' in 1544) where it met for the first time of the Jesuits (probably Pierre Favre itself). After a summary formation in Théologie it was ordered priest in Liege in 1546 and was named cleaned in Waillet. With Paris in 1547, it again met a Jesuit with whom it made the spiritual Exercises according to St Ignace de Loyola. That justified it to require its admission in the Company. It renonça with its function (and the benefit) of its parish and began its noviciate Jesuit into 1548 whole while continuing studies of theology in Paris.

First responsibilities

In 1551 Ignace de Loyola called it in Rome and quickly entrusted delicate spots of administration to him: foundation of the college of Perugia, police chief for the province of Germany and the Netherlands. The successor of Ignace, Diego Tease, named it in 1558 Provincial of the Netherlands. Convinced that the best brake with the progress of the Protestantisme was the education of the young people it opened the colleges of Trier and Mainz (1561), Tournai (1562), Cambrai and Dining (1563), Saint Omer (1567) and of many residences, of which that - university - of Leuwen.

Again in Rome for the 2nd General Congregation (1565) he was elected Assisting new General Superior François Borgia for the areas of Germany, Austria, France and Netherlands. Like Visitor, envoy officially by the General Superior François Borgia it consolidated there the Community and religious life, often neglected in favor of a fast expansion of the Company.

3rd General congregation (1573)

After the death of François Borgia (1572) - at the time of a diplomatic mission which the pope Gregoire XIII had entrusted to him - the General Congregation was convened by Juan de Polanco (General Vicar) which, considering its experiment (former secretary of St Ignace) seemed to be the natural candidate with the succession. The pope intervened to ask that not-Spanish be elected and suggested even the name of Mercurian. It was badly accepted and the delegates protested. The Pope withdrew his request, but the message had passed: Mercurian was elected, as of the 1st turn by 27 votes out of 47 voters. The Congregation in addition voted decrees which went in a rather restrictive direction.

General superior

The year of the election of Mercurian there was nearly 4000 Jesuits. The growth was fast and that involved problems. The received mandate of the General Congregation went in the direction of a consolidation of works, rather than expansion. That well also corresponded to the character and the experiment of Mercurian. During the 7 ½ years of sound généralat:

It completed the legislative work of its predecessors, by publishing the rules of the various offices in the Company, as well as the `Sommaire of the Constitutions'. It sent regularly `Visiteurs' in the various provinces Jesuits to strengthen the internal government of it, correcting the rigorism of certain provinces to bring back them to a mode plus ignacian of government.
It closed colleges whose financial position was precarious, but accepted the opening of others, especially in European the Protestant Eastern European countries. Growth rate was slower because the conditions of acceptance, especially their budgets, were more strict. More pontifical seminars (fruits of the reform started by the Council of Thirty) were accepted, just as Roman colleges (English Collège, Dalmatian college) with the request express of Gregoire XIII.
It gave a great impulse to the work missionary in which it was interested much. He launched the mission Maronite to the Lebanon. He named Alessandro Valignano visitor of the missions in Asia (India, Japan, Moluques) whose policy of Inculturation (knowledge of the languages and religions Eastern, adoption of the habits and the Eastern lifestyle, admission with the priesthood of Indians and Japanese, etc) changed the prospects missionaries completely and allowed the advent of orientalists such as Matteo Ricci (in China), Roberto de Nobili (in India), etc He encouraged the dangerous mission of Edmond Campion and Robert Persons in England.
Of rather pragmatic spirituality, it did not include/understand really the problems of spiritual life of certain Spanish Jesuits whose mystical tendencies were however sincere. It enjoint Balthazar Alvarez to be stuck and teach strictly to the method of speech ignatienne.

Last days and Death

The inhabitant of the Ardennes who was Mercurian did not support the Roman climate easily. Each summer was difficult and it often spent several days to Frascati, in the white mounts. In 1580, the excess of work and a fatal epidemic which prevailed in Rome, still weakened it. During the last week of July, period of heat wave, it took refuge, overpowered fever with the noviciate St Andre on the mount Quirinal. It is there that it returned the heart on August 1st 1580. It was 66 years old.

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