Juan de Polanco

Juan de Polanco , born on December 16th, 1517 with Burgos, Spain, and dead on December 21st, 1576 in Rome was as from 1547 the secretary and one of the closest confidants of Ignace de Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus then the assistant of the two first higher generals of the Order.

Entry in the Society of Jesus

Polanco comes from a noble and rich family of the Basque Country. It very young person studied with Paris, then with Rome. His/her father got to him a sizeable position of Scriptor apostolicus and Comes palatinus to the the Vatican for 1000 ducats of gold.

After three months of activity, it followed the spiritual Exercises with Ignace. It renonça with all its loads to join the miserable house of the Jesuits in Santa Maria dei Astalli. At the 24 years age, it entered the Society of Jesus. Its family, and especially her father, were shocked by it so much so that any relation was broken. During many years, it did not have any more any correspondence and Juan never returned to visit its close relations in Burgos. Few before death of his/her parents, it were reconciled with its family.

Secretary of Ignace de Loyola and his successors

Because of its immense talents, it obtained the total confidence of the founder of the order, but acquired also a great influence on the internal structure of the Society of Jesus to the fourth general Superior. It was during nine years the right-hand man of Loyola. Polanco remained then fourteen years secretary of the Company under Diego Lainez and François Borgia, until 1573.

After having written in Spanish under the control of Ignace the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, it made of it a Latin translation which was examined and recognized in 1558 by the first general Congregation.

The death of François Borgia on October 1st, 1572 was revolving in the history of the Society of Jesus. The tradition that the " Général" either Spanish was broken and a new generation emerges. Polanco which avit appointed General Vicar of the Order, convened the General Congregation. The Pope Gregoire XIII gave the instruction to the Parliament not to choose of Spanish. On the remonstrance of a delegation of Jesuits taken along by Pierre Canisius, the Pope withdrew the expression asks not to evoke but his anti-Hispanic wish more. The assembly selected as of the first turn - by a narrow majority of 27 votes out of 47 voters - the Belgian Everard Mercurian like new superior. This same day, on April 23rd, 1573, the result was announced with large the satisfactuon of the pope.

The General one had four assistants. One of them was its secretary. Polanco occupied the function until this date. In order to relieve the load of General, an assistance was granted to him, a admonitor. This load was also entrusted to Juan de Polanco for all this period.

With many recoveries, Polanco was the travelling companion of the Superiors. It accompanied Ignace with Naples in November 1552, Lainez in France in 1561, and Borgia in Spain, Portugal and France. On the request of the papae, it accompanied also the general father Lainez with the Concile by Thirty.

Polanco was the mainstay of the organization of the Company during twenty years but also, a demanding spiritual director. He was the guard of the thought of Ignace as for the operation of the Order and was not fault of reminding the Superiors whom he had enacted that the direct correspondence between a simple Jesuit and the general Father should not be control by its local Superior.

The memorialist

With died of Borgia, Polanco was replaced by Antonio Possevino as secretary, which enabled him to be devoted to a literary work. A biography of Ignace was required, and especially the realization of the " Chroniques" , which is an essential reading for the first times of the Company. These detailed annual reports cover the years 1537 to 1556 in six volumes.

This tireless activity undermined its health. it was transferré in Naples, to go back before returning to Rome or it died in 1576. One not kept a portrait of him.

Notes and references of the article

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