Word: jesuitical
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...Jesuits were once such a powerful force in the Roman Catholic Church that their elected leader was unofficially called the "black pope," a nod both to his influence and to the order's predeliction for simple black cassocks. Indeed, it is said that the rest of the Church never allowed a Jesuit to be elected to the real papacy for fear of concentrating too much power in the hands of the order. On Saturday, Jan. 19, the Society of Jesus - the order's formal name - elected a new "black pope." Will he be able to help them regain the influence...
...gathering of 217 Jesuit leaders in Rome chose little-known Father Adolfo Nicolas, 71, as their new "Superior General", a position that has historically been a lifetime posting. The leader of the Jesuits has sway over a network of priests, universities, hospitals and other missionary institutions around the globe. Though there was no real white smoke to alert the world that they'd found a new leader, as there is in the conclave of Cardinals that elects the Pope, the vote is nonetheless a sacred and secret affair. An oath of loyalty is recited before the balloting, and tradition holds...
Once that happened Saturday morning, the Jesuits' modern press operation quickly sent out a press release biography, and a rare photo of the bespectacled new leader. Indeed Nicolas, who has lived almost uninterruptedly in the Far East since 1964, was not on the shortlist of those experts trying to predict who would get the nod. One Jesuit source said, only half-jokingly, after learning of the choice: "He doesn't like Rome...
Still, Nicolas will be trading in his sashimi for spaghetti, as the Jesuit creed requires priests to follow new missions to whatever part of the globe is required. After his early training in Spain, Nicolas studied in Japan and was ordained in Tokyo in 1967. Following four years of study at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he then returned to the Far East, with subsequent stints in the Philippines and Japan. Nicolas had spent the last three years running Jesuit operations in East Asia and Oceania, an administrative experience that will serve him in his new job of managing...
...though, there's just one "papal" transition to worry about. The delegates will do their voting inside the Jesuits' vast, marble-lined headquarters on Borgo Santo Spirito. Doors closed, no outsiders allowed in. When one man has received the necessary majority, rather than white smoke, we'll know there is a new "black pope" by the sound of applause through the wooden doors of the Jesuit sala. As for revealing the new Superior General's identity to the world: before the delegates are allowed to leave the voting hall, a lone messenger will take the short walk over...