Humanist

and ambitious

Fr. Camillo Scassellati, Third General of the Pious Schools

Humanist and ambitious.

Fr. Camillo Scassellati, Third General of the Pious Schools

Author: György Sántha

Publicaciones ICCE

(Instituto Calasanz de Ciencias de la Educación)

Conde de Vilches, 4 - 28028 Madrid

www.icce.es

ISBN: 978-84-7278-???-?

Translated by F. Antonio Marco

Copyright is reserved.

Reproduction, publication and distribution, whether total or partial, of all the original material contained in this book is expressly forbidden unless written authorization has been given.

For further information contact: www.icce.es

Humanist

and ambitious

Fr. Camillo Scassellati, Third General of the Pious Schools

www.edicionescalasancias.org

Fr. Camillo Scassellati (Art Gallery of Superior Generals. San Pantaleo. Rome)

In order to ever write the complete history of the Order of the Pious Schools, it is undoubtedly important to have clear and precise data on the life and activities of each of the Superior Generals of the Order who succeeded St. Joseph Calasanz over the centuries. So, having explained the biography of Father John García, the second Superior General of the Order, in as much detail as possible, we gladly take on the task of describing the life and deeds of Father Camillo Scassellati of St. Jerome as clearly as possible. This is all the more true as there is no lack of things and events in his life, his generalate and his time that deserve our utmost attention. These events, starting from the first Brief of Alexander VII Dudum felicis recordationis Paulus Papa V, which was granted to the Piarist Order in January 1656, clearly identify the following phases of the difficult development of the Institute.

CHAPTER I

THE LIFE OF FATHER CAMILLO AND HIS ACTIVITIES

UNTIL HIS APPOINTMENT AS GENERAL (1610-1659)

Neither the day nor the year of Father Camillo’ birth can be precisely determined. It is very likely that he was born in 1610 in Urbino (Umbria), in the bosom of a family that is almost completely unknown to us. His father was called Horace and was a surgeon in Urbino; we have no information about his mother[1]. At his baptism he was given the name Horace, which was later changed to Camillo[2] when he entered the Religion. We do not know what studies he completed in Urbino before joining the Order. Nor do we know when and how he became acquainted with Calasanz and the Pious Schools and what motives led him to take the habit in Rome on May 1, 1626, when he was barely sixteen years old[3]. After completing the two-year novitiate under the direction and guidance of his teachers, first Father James Graziani of St. Paul and then Father Glicerio Cerutti of the Nativity of the Lord[4], he made his solemn profession on May 3, 1628 in the Piarist house of St. Pantaleo at the hands of St. Joseph Calasanz. However, he was not ordained a priest until eight years later, on March 22, 1636, in Narni[5]. It can be assumed that Father Camillo had already carried out the usual humanistic studies within the Order, partly in the school of Narni, from where he sent his compositions to Calasanz for revision on several occasions[6], and partly in Rome under the guidance of the priest Don Andrew Bayano, the famous Portuguese philologist, in the house of St. Pantaleo, where Bayano had resided since 1630 as a teacher of the Piarist clerics, or at Collegio Nazareno, where he had held the chair of humanities since the beginning of the school[7].

It is not easy to say which houses and in which order he belonged to after he left the novitiate. There are hardly any catalogs of the houses and provinces from that time that can enlighten us. However, a memorandum written by the same Father Scassellati on his behalf[8], at the beginning of 1656 shows that from the start of his pedagogical activity until the day of his writing[9], the said Father taught humanities and rhetoric in Naples, Genoa, Pisa, Narni and Collegio Nazareno in Rome and that he also held the office of superior in Pisa and Rome, first in the novitiate house and then in Collegio Nazareno. He also states that he worked as a master of cleric students. It is certain that Father Camillo was a teacher at Collegio Nazareno in 1638[10], and that he was frequently in Frascati[11] in the years 1639-1641 and in Pisa from March 1641 to September 1643 as superior of the house[12]. In this last post, encouraged by the letters and exhortations of the Holy Founder, he patiently endured many hardships and harassments from Father Mario Sozzi and the Holy Inquisition[13], since the end of 1641 when Mario had been Provincial of Etruria. He received obedience in mid-1643 and went first to Moricone and then to Nursia at the end of September of the same year[14]. The date on which Fr. Scassellati finally moved from Nursia to Rome is not known, but it is certain that at the beginning of 1646, before assuming the post of rector and professor of Collegio Nazareno, he was rector of the novitiate of Borgo hospital; from where he moved at the end of March of the same year 1646 to Collegio Nazareno[15], of which he was appointed rector by the Auditors of the S. Roman Rota, replacing Fr. Cherubini[16], on the recommendation of Calasanz, who considered him a person of integrity and learning.

As rector of Collegio Nazareno, Father Scassellati proved to be an excellent teacher of humanities and rhetoric and a willing collaborator of the holy Founder in his efforts to reintegrate the Order. When Count Francis Magni arrived in Rome at the end of 1646 as ambassador of the Polish King Ladislaus IV to discuss with Innocent X the future war against the Turks and the question of the reintegration of the Pious Schools, and the Founder wanted to hold a solemn academy in his honor on January 14th of the following year 1647, Father Scassellati played a prominent role with various poems and speeches[17]. And when Father Peter Casani of the Nativity of Our Lady, first Assistant General, exchanged his earthly life, which was full of merits and praiseworthy works, for that of heaven on October 17, 1647, Father Scassellati delivered a solemn funeral oration in Collegio Nazareno. This speech was printed the following year, 1648, in Francis Caballo’s printing press[18].

The love that Father Scassellati always had for the holy Founder is also shown by the fact that he offered himself as an effective mediator between Father Cherubini and Calasanz[19] during the last phase of his life and that he himself said a solemn sermon in Collegio Nazareno on the occasion of Calasanz’ funeral, which he also had printed in Francis Caballo’s print shop[20]. After the death of the Founder, in the sad time of the Innocentian reduction, when the Calasanzian Institute was doomed to almost certain death without leadership and without communication between the houses and without the possibility of dressing novices, Father Scassellati, on the one hand, was committed to increasing the prestige and fame of Collegio Nazareno; on the other, he was always ready to support with his valuable collaboration every initiative that came from the fervent wishes of the religious for the reintegration of the Institute. Thus, the most faithful sons of Calasanz met with him more than once at Collegio Nazareno to discuss the occasion, the order to be followed and the way in which matters were to be managed. And after the elevation of Alexander VII to the papal throne, Father Scassellati went with a few religious to greet and implore the new Pope, who was so favorably disposed towards the Piarists[21]. When the religious finally had to deal with Cardinal Albizzi in the second half of 1655, he gladly offered them his fraternal and effective services[22].

However, when the future reintegration of the Order, at least in part, was considered certain, there arose in Father Scassellati an inordinate and disorderly desire to obtain the supreme direction of the Order for himself, and he was determined to reform the Order entirely according to his mentality rather than that of Calasanz. In all these endeavors he was effectively supported by Father Joseph Pennazzi of St. Eustace, then Prefect of Collegio Nazareno, who, as soon as he learned of the imminent resolution of the affairs of the Pious Schools, apparently in his own name, but in reality on the advice and at the instigation of the same Father Scassellati, gave a memorandum to Cardinal James Corradi, Datario of Alexander VII, and former Auditor of the S. Roman Rota and as such benevolent protector of the Collegio Nazareno. This memorandum consisted of seven points and contained not a few suggestions for the good governance of the Order. In fact, he proposed and judged: 1.) that the custom of going barefoot should be abolished; 2.) that the custom of accompanying children home should be abandoned; 3.) that the ability to own stable or common property should be abolished; 4.) that the future general and his council should be given the power to mitigate the rigor of the old Constitutions; 5.) that in future only priests should be entrusted with the teaching ministry and that only priests with nine years’ teaching experience should be able to hold the office of superior; 6.) That, in order to avoid excessive expenditure of money and time, both the Superior General and his Assistants should be appointed by papal decree; 7.) That the future General may be chosen with safety and tranquility from among the following three: Fr. Francis Castelli, Fr. Joseph Fedele and Fr. Camillo Scassellati[23].

A short time later, Father Scassellati, who was not satisfied with this written memorandum, sent another memorandum himself to the same Cardinal Corradi who had been responsible for his appointment as rector of Collegio Nazareno in place of Father Cherubini only ten years earlier. In it, he listed his merits in the service of the Pious Schools and expressly recommended himself for the office of General[24]. At the same time, Count Dominic Ubaldini, Secretary of the Pontifical Consistory and Honorary Prelate of His Holiness, who held him in high esteem because of the services Father Scassellati had rendered him in preparing the funeral sermon of Innocent X, lobbied the Roman Curia to have the said Father appointed General of the newly established Congregation by Alexander VII.

But Father Nicholas Gavotti of the Holy Rosary, who had learned of the matter in time, sent a libel against Father Scassellati to Alexander VII. After the Pope had investigated the matter more closely, he no longer wanted to appoint Father Scassellati to the Generalate, even though he had confirmed the falsity of Father Gavotti’s accusations[25]. And so, on March 12, 1656, Father John García of Jesus Mary was appointed Calasanz’s first successor. Father Scassellati was only appointed General Assistant, along with Fathers Francis Castelli, Joseph Fedele and John Stephen Spínola[26].

During Father Garcia’s administration, Father Scassellati closely followed the wishes and will of Father Joseph Fedele. Together with him, not long after the new government began, on April 4, 1656, he petitioned Alexander VII for a new Brief that reduced Father Garcia’s generalate to a three-year term and granted the four Assistants a decisive vote in matters of governance of the Congregation[27]. In possession of this power, he and the other three Assistants, guided partly by excessive ambition and partly by the desire for an easier religious life, made the mandate of Father García very difficult, who for his part, while faithfully adhering to the primitive Calasanzian customs and traditions, would have liked to observe the old traditions in detail[28].

More than two years passed with this plan, and as the date of the new Chapters approached, Father Scassellati, having forgotten the first setback, descended into the arena with renewed vigor to enforce with the votes of the Capitular Fathers what he had been unable to achieve in 1656 with papal favor. After the death of Father Garcia (February 16, 1659), Father Joseph Fedele, the first assistant, was appointed General Vicar, but this did not cause our biographer to lose hope; on the contrary, it served as an incentive for him to increase the number of his supporters.

For example, in a memorandum that he sent to the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars in September 1658, he asked: 1) that there should also be an elective Chapter in Collegio Nazareno; 2) that he, as rector of the Collegio Nazareno, could send his procurator to the Provincial Chapter that was to meet in Narni on October 10, 1658[29].

This brings us to the General Chapter, the first since the death of the holy Founder, which took place from May 7th to 25th, 1659 in the Roman house of St. Pantaleo. As had long been predicted, two positions or parties clashed. One, led by Father Scassellati himself, fought for a certain lighter lifestyle in the Congregation restored by Alexander VII, as we have already seen. The other, on the other hand, which had chosen Father Onofrio Conti of the Blessed Sacrament, then Provincial of Germania and Poland, as its leader, affirmed the need to preserve the old Calasanzian traditions completely and in everything.

Since the first party, led by Father Scassellati, who always lived in Rome, was better and more skillfully prepared, and since of the five Fathers who were absent on the day of the election, some were supporters of Father Conti, on May 10th, after a splendid speech delivered in Italian by Father Scassellati himself on the qualities of the future general, his tendency prevailed, although Cardinal Marcio Ginetti, Protector of the Congregation and President of the General Chapter, was more in favor of the other party[30].

Accordingly, on the morning of May 11, 1659, Father Camillo Scassellati of St. Jerome was appointed Superior General by ten votes out of sixteen cast, the second successor of the holy Founder and the first Superior General of the Piarists to be elected in a Chapter[31].

CHAPTER II

FATHER CAMILLO SCASSELLATI´S GENERALATE (1659-1665)

The newly elected General immediately made every effort to recruit reliable collaborators within the General Chapter itself. Thus, he added to the two former General Assistants, Fathers Joseph Fedele and Peter Mussesti, who had been re-appointed by the Chapter, Fathers Peter Luke Battaglione of St. Michael’s, rector of the Roman House of Probation, and Glicerio Cerutti of the Nativity of the Lord, rector of the House of St. Pantaleo, his former follower[32] and former novice master[33]. For the office of Procurator General, he chose Father Joseph Pennazzi of St. Eustace, a native of Pesara, very close to Urbino, prefect of Collegio Nazareno, who had proved to be one of Father Scassellati’s staunchest supporters since 1655 and had already then proposed his appointment as General to the prelates of the Roman Curia[34].

At the same General Chapter, the Chapter Fathers also issued fifty-two declarations or decrees on some points of the Constitutions aimed at definitively introducing in the Pious Schools the new way of life of the Congregation, which had been restored by Alexander VII and which had already been proposed and even expressly advocated by Father Camillo Scassellati and his followers in 1655, abolishing some provisions of the old Calasanzian tradition. Thus, in this Chapter, the old strictness of silence was softened[35], the custom of accompanying children home was abolished[36], the extent and frequency of fasting was reduced[37], theatrical performances were permitted[38] and, with regard to poverty, it was declared “that the essence of our poverty is contained in the Brief of Pope Alexander VII”[39], “issued on January 24, 1656, and no longer in the Brief of Paul V of March 6, 1617.

With these and other similar “declarations or decrees”, the old Calasanzian path was somewhat abandoned and a new one opened up, which considered and wanted to keep the form of the Congregation established by the first Brief of Alexander VII as definitive; and by displaying a greater liberality and humanity, he easily attracted the will of many religious.

This new “way” enticed most of them above all because the primitive way of life of the Institute, according to the mentality and wishes of Calasanz, was generally too rigorous and it must be acknowledged that superhuman strength was often required for its complete observance.

But if the rigor of the Constitutions and the Calasanzian rules was in some points excessive, the inclination of the leaders of this new “way” to the opposite side was also somewhat immoderate. Led not only by moderation and prudence, as they believed, but also by the weakness and flattery of human mediocrity, they had often yielded to them in establishing new laws and introducing new forms of life, which a greater sobriety or piety on their part might have avoided.

For this reason, many felt that with this new “way” that had been introduced, the future of the Calasanzian Institute was about to end. As a result, they soon joined together more closely than before in order to defend the old Calasanzian institutions more effectively when the first opportunity arose.

As soon as the General Chapter was over, Fr. Scassellati proposed to strengthen his position, surrounding himself with religious who were loyal to him and gradually removing the most prominent representatives of the opposing faction from Rome.

Father Onofrio Conti himself, who had refused to accept the provincialate of Germania again[40], was sent, after a short stay in Poli, first as novice master to the Roman House of Probation and then to Naples[41]. Father Vincent Berro, postulator of the beatification process of Calasanz, was sent to Genoa as Provincial[42] by Father Scassellati. Father Giovanni Carlo Caputi was sent to Chieti at the end of 1659 to replace Father Angel Morelli, who had been called to Rome to help Giovanni Alfonso Borelli with the publication of a work translated from Arabic[43]. Through the intervention of Cardinal Lawrence Imperial, Caputi was able to return to Rome on December 15, 1660, but he did not immediately go to the house of St. Pantaleo, but to the novitiate[44].

In the meantime, Father Peter Mussesti, the General Assistant, served as rector of the house of St. Pantaleo[45], while Father Scassellati himself continued as rector of Collegio Nazareno.

With the help of Father Joseph Pennazzi of St. Eustace, the General Procurator, Father Scassellati, from the beginning of his generalate, not only made a point of scrupulously observing the decrees of the General Chapter relating to the new way of life, but he also introduced completely new customs in the Calasanzian Institute, such as the custom of wearing shoes or adding the surname and even the place of birth to his name, leaving the name of the religious saint, so that he was called and wanted to be called, for example, Father Camillo Scassellati of Urbino.

Finally, he neglected the house of St. Pantaleo, the natural residence of the General and his Assistants, and continued to live in Collegio Nazareno for health reasons, as he said . Moreover, he made no secret of the fact that he had been elected General for life in accordance with the Constitutions and wanted to act as such and be recognized by all. He also began to disregard the decisive vote of the Assistants in the leadership of the Congregation.

THE BRIEF “CUM, SICUT ACCEPIMUS” (APRIL 28, 1660)

These and similar things were grudgingly endured, both by those who were staunch and fearless defenders of the old Piarist observance, and by those who, given the fact that Father Scassellati was not even fifty years old, had completely lost hope of ever reaching the Generalate.

On the other hand, the same General Assistants complained, not without reason, that Father General was in practice disregarding their right to cast the deciding vote in the most important matters of the Order, a vote that had been granted to them by Alexander VII in the Brief of April 4, 1656. For this reason, by mutual agreement, the Assistants Joseph Fedele and Peter Mussesti, along with Father Angel Morelli, who was in Rome at the time, presented a Memorandum to D. Prospero Fagnano[46] in which they asked first and foremost that their right to a decisive vote be confirmed. They also asked that the following be maintained: l.) the custom of accompanying the poor children to their homes; 2.) the wearing of the habit in the quality and fit prescribed by the Constitutions; 3.) the custom of walking barefoot; 4.) the custom of admitting children in the first grade of primary school; 5.) the use of bedding according to the Constitutions; 6.) the custom of calling the persons of the community by the name of a saint and not by the surname of the family; 7.) the custom of observing poverty even when traveling.

It was also requested that in the future no superiors be elected who contradict the poverty and humility of the Institute. They also humbly submitted the question of the Generalate for life to the judgment of the Holy See, without hiding the fact that they would like to reduce it to a six-year term. Finally, the orators asked that the house of St. Pantaleo be designated as the residence of Father General and his Assistants[47].

Alexander VII was duly informed of the matter and commissioned D. Prospero Fagnano, Secretary of the Apostolic Visitation, and D. S. Ugolino, Secretary of Briefs, and others under his direction, to examine the whole question. These, having also heard the other party, having read the answer or report of Father Scassellati himself, and other memoranda on the question, presented to themselves or to other prelates of the Roman Curia by Father Joseph Pennazzi, who was specially commissioned by Father Scassellati[48], at the session of April 14, 1660, and in the name of the pope, decreed as follows:

“Since some controversies have arisen in the Secular Congregation of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, the Holy Father, in order to settle them and promote the good of the said Congregation, with the vote of certain prelates of the Roman Curia, to whose examination he has entrusted this matter, has decided and decreed, on his own initiative, that the General of the said Congregation and the four Assistants, both those who were elected at the last General Chapter and those who will be elected in the future, shall remain in office for a term of six years only. The Assistants, together with the General himself, have a decisive vote in the election, appointment and change of superiors; also, in penal matters and criminal sentences, and in all other acts which, according to the Constitutions of the Congregation or the decrees of the General Chapters, must be executed or managed by the General and the Assistants. In all other matters, the Assistants shall have a consultative vote and the General shall, as far as possible, follow their advice as prescribed by the Constitutions. They will all reside together with the General in the house of St. Pantaleo in Rome. Moreover, His Holiness has ordered that the praiseworthy traditions of the said Congregation be unwaveringly maintained, especially the custom of accompanying poor children to their homes; to wear a habit of the quality and cut prescribed in the Constitutions; to go barefoot; to admit children of the first class to the schools; to use dormitory beds in accordance with the said Constitutions; to address the persons of the Congregation by the name of a saint and not by the family name; and finally, to observe the poverty professed by the members of this Institute even when traveling. Moreover, His Holiness has ordered that the ancient Constitutions of the Congregation be observed, with all the graces, instructions and privileges granted by the Apostolic See, to the extent that it corresponds to the state of a secular Congregation and does not contravene this letter”[49].

This decree, which, as can be seen, accepted all the demands of the orators except that of not electing superiors who would call into question the poverty and humility of the institute, was again approved by Alexander VII on April 17, 1660, when he ordered the publication of the corresponding Brief[50]. This was actually published on April 28th of the same year 1660 and begins with the words Cum sicut accepimus[51].

Accordingly, Father Scassellati, who had held his Generalate for less than a year, was overtaken by his opponents in every respect when the conservative party won. The old Constitutions were confirmed in all their aspects. The best Calasanzian traditions were maintained with the old rigor. The Generalate was reduced to a six-year term and the decisive vote of the General Assistants in the most important matters of the Congregation was reaffirmed.

Any other General in these circumstances would have preferred to resign from office rather than continue a troubled government according to norms that were often so at odds with his way of thinking and acting. But Father Scassellati did not proceed in this way, for he hoped that, despite the recent Brief, he could continue in government as before, once the first adverse storms were overcome, partly by pretending, partly by asking for dispensations, or by capturing the will of the prelates of the Roman Curia in order to return to his first idea.

Above all, he endeavored to conceal this Brief, which he found so offensive, under a cloak of silence and not to publish it anywhere[52]. As for his stay in the house of St. Pantaleo, shortly after the promulgation of the Brief, precisely on June 30, 1660, he received a special indult of six months from the dicastery which was responsible for regular discipline, to stay in Collegio Nazareno and take care of his health[53]. As soon as he was able, he refused to seek the decisive or consultative vote of the Assistants, whom he repeatedly insulted when they contradicted him, and he even went so far as to threaten them more than once with expulsion from the General Congregation. For the rest, he continued to act as before, without paying the slightest attention to the latest Brief.

THE APOSTOLIC VISITATION IN THE YEARS 1661-1662

In this situation, a new Apostolic Visitation of the city of Rome began the following year, 1661[54], by order of Alexander VII, during which the house and church of St. Pantaleo were also to be inspected. For this reason, the same Fathers who had previously asked the Brief of April 28, 1660, sent the Prelates of the Visitation a new memorandum containing practically the same accusations as before against the government of Father Scassellati, but with the aggravating factor that the general was adamant in his intentions, and which also contained other questions concerning the legal situation of the Collegio Nazareno, the superiorate and administration of the house of St. Pantaleo and the jurisdiction of the Roman Provincial over the houses in Rome.

But the Memorandum, besides the usual reproaches, also contained certain really useful proposals for a more efficient management of the Congregation, both as regards the procedure in the General Congregations, in the elaboration of proposals, their approval and the promulgation of decrees, and as regards the special competences that should be given to each Assistant. Regarding the latter, it was proposed for the first time that, as in other Religions, also in the Piarist Congregation, each of the General Assistants be entrusted with the care of certain Provinces[55].

After receiving these and other oral reports, Cardinal Cesare Franciotti made his long-awaited visit on October 10, 1661, accompanied by the Vicegerent. And as in the previous year, the Congregation of Prelates, which was responsible for the affairs of the Pious Schools, could do nothing but publicly acknowledge the truth of what had been exposed[56]. After reading Father Scassellati’s answers[57], they announced the appropriate remedial measures in a Decree dated May 4, 1662. Although this did not remedy all the inconveniences of Father Scassellati’s government, it did alleviate them considerably. And so, it was decided, among other things, that:

“As superior of the house of St. Pantaleo, no one may in future be elected who at that time holds the office of Assistant; the habit of the religious must be completely uniform both as to style and cut, as prescribed by the Brief; the General must fully comply with the Decree on residence in the house of St. Pantaleo, where the General Procurator must also reside.”

The Roman Provincial was also deprived of jurisdiction over the houses in Rome that were directly subordinate to the General. A decree was also drawn up concerning the House of Studies of St. Pantaleo, the problems of which will be dealt with on another occasion[58]. Some other issues were also discussed with the Prelates of the Apostolic Visitation, but no decree was promulgated on them. Of particular importance was the request for the beatification of the Founder. In order to have a competent postulator in Rome, it was decided that Father Vincent Berro, who had returned to Rome after leaving the province of Liguria for good, should assist Father Joseph Pennazzi, who had held the office of Postulator since August 26, 1659[59], and even replace him, as the latter was very often busy with other matters[60]. This decision was actually carried out: Father Berro arrived in Rome in January 1662[61] and, meanwhile appointed Provincial of Rome[62], he once again effectively took care of the beatification of Calasanz[63].

Regarding Father Nicholas Gavotti of the Most Holy Rosary, once one of the greatest supporters of Father Cherubini and Father Pietrasanta, Apostolic Visitator, against whose habits there were many complaints in the house of St. Pantaleo about his licentious lifestyle and behavior[64], was ordered to return from Rome to Savona, his homeland, despite the petition he had sent to Her Excellency Berenice Chigi[65]. With regard to Father Elisio Sotorreal of St. Joseph, one of the first biographers of Calasanz65bis, who at the time of the Apostolic Visitation was imprisoned in the prison of St. Pantaleo for disobedience, obstinacy and serious violation of the vow of poverty[66], was reviewed at the request of the Prelates of the Visitation, and the sentence of ten years in prison imposed on him was commuted to six years of exile in Nursia[67].

In the same Apostolic Visitation, the religious finally expressed the fervent wish that the Roman Province should also have its immediate superior, as the office of Provincial had until then been exercised de facto by Father Scassellati[68]. Thus, on February 10, 1622, Father Vincent Berro was elected Roman Provincial, although he was stripped of all jurisdiction over the houses in Rome[69]. The terms of this jurisdiction, which was confirmed on May 4, 1622 by the decree of the Apostolic Visitation[70], gave rise to many disputes between the General and the Roman Provincial, as we shall see later.

During the Visitation, much was also said against Father Joseph Pennazzi, the General Procurator and right-hand man of Father Scassellati, because he did not fulfill the prescriptions of the old Constitutions, nor those of the Brief of April 28, 1660, nor those of the common life, and was an absolute nullity in the exercise of the office of General Procurator[71]; but for the time being no action was taken against him. There were also those who demanded that not only he, but also Father Scassellati, together with his strongest followers, should change to another, more lax Religion[72].

PROBLEMS ARISING FROM THE FIRST BRIEF OF ALEXANDER VII

Both the Brief of April 28, 1660 and the Apostolic Visitation with its memoranda and decrees, issued partly in writing and partly orally in 1661 and 1662, disrupted the first years of Father Scassellati’s government in no small way. All these memoranda and decrees, even if they were aimed at the good governance of the Congregation, often came from those who, driven by personal ambition, sought their own benefit and profit under the guise of the common good[73]. Nevertheless, even in the midst of the storms of those early years, and even more so after they had been overcome to a certain extent, Father Scassellati successfully undertook initiatives aimed at the efficient management and progress of the Institute as a whole.

As for the legal status of the Institute, into which the Pious Schools had been reintegrated by the first Brief of Alexander VII, i.e. the Congregation of Simple Vows, Father Scassellati did not want to change it because he considered it more appropriate for the daily work and pedagogical task of the Piarists. Even the initiative taken during the Apostolic Visitation to change the term “secular priests”, which was used to describe the religious in Alexander VII’s Brief, did not come from Father General, but from his opponents[74].

However, Father Scassellati himself, and not only the religious who opposed him, was keen that certain restrictions imposed by the Brief on the Congregation with regard to the admission of novices, their training, and the age of teachers[75], should be lifted as soon as possible. And because of the small number of members of the Institute, which was so severely tested in the decade of the Innocentian reduction and in the plague of 1656 and 1657, Father Scassellati asked - and he obtained the Pope’s permission - as early as June 1660, that the two-year duration of the novitiate should be shortened to one year, and that teachers, as soon as they had attained the priesthood, could immediately exercise the teaching ministry, even if they had not yet completed the twenty-eight years prescribed by the Alexandrine Brief[76]. In December 1663, the exemption was extended for a further three years[77]. This measure was certainly very beneficial for increasing the number of religious, for greater efficiency in the educational activities of the Piarists and consequently also for the expansion of the Institute.

STUDIES OF CANDIDATES FOR THE PIOUS SCHOOLS

Another matter of great importance, which Father Scassellati undertook and carried out with prudence, was the study of Piarist clerics. Neither at the time of the holy Founder nor during the Generalate of Fr. García had proper and effective measures been taken to solve the serious problem of the studies of the juniors. For this reason, Father Camillo Scassellati, who as a scholar and learned man of letters was very fond of the pedagogical ministry, did his utmost to ensure that a number of permanent places of study were immediately established throughout the Congregation.

And so, in 1660, in response to an old request from Calasanz himself, thanks above all to the care of Father Angel Morelli, the rector of the house, and with the unconditional approval of Father Scassellati, the first interprovincial house of studies was founded in Chieti, which was to bear rich fruit for the entire Order in the following decades[78]. The first prefect of the twelve students was Father Gian Carlo Pirroni, seventeen years later a famous General of the Order and the most zealous promoter of studies in the Calasanzian Institute[79]. If anyone claims that Father Scassellati took little part in the foundation and consolidation of this house, he is easily convinced of his error by the relevant decrees of the General Congregation of September 1661, in which Father Morelli is instructed not to interrupt the studies of the twelve students living in Chieti for any reason, especially not under the pretext of continuing the work of the house[80].

One year after the opening of the house of studies in Chieti, in June 1661 to be precise, the General Congregation decided to found another house of studies in Rome, to which two clerics from each province were to be sent, chosen with the greatest care, instructed in the first elements of the humanities, and recommended by letters of testimony from the Provincial and his assistants and from the rector of the original house[81]; each province was to contribute to its upkeep by celebrating two daily Masses[82].

Shortly thereafter, on August 5th, Father Peter Luke Battaglione, General Assistant[83], was appointed prefect of the study, to whom the patent was granted on December 7, 1661[84]. On July 1, 1661, Father Dominic Marchia of St. Francis[85], who came from Cáller in the province of Sardinia, which was already famous for its philosophical and theological studies at the time of the Holy Founder[86], was appointed professor of philosophy and theology for the cleric students[87]. During his four years of teaching in Rome, this Father, who was well versed in theological and philosophical disciplines, achieved excellent and abundant fruits of his attentive and hard work[88]. The first students of this juniorate were seven clerics: Thomas Kosteleczki of St. Wenceslaus, Louis Baumon of St. Luke, Alexis Bondi of St. Michael, Augustine Lazzarini of St. Anthony, Pelegrin Carrari of St. Francis, Gregory Salvo of St. Joseph and Onofrio Praglio of St. Joseph[89], to whom only one more was added in the academic year 1661-1662[90].

But this house of studies, which was supported by the unanimous vote of the General Congregation and the special interest of Father Scassellati, did not meet with the approval of all the Piarists[91] because of the cramped conditions and poverty in the house of St. Pantaleo[92].

When the prelates of the Apostolic Visitation learned of this on October 10, 1661, they issued the following decree on May 4, 1662:

“It does not seem opportune to the Holy Visitation that a study for the clerics of the Pious Schools be established in the said house of St. Pantaleo”[93].

In this way, the juniorate of St. Pantaleon, although it continued to progress thanks to the determined will of Father Scassellati, did not achieve the development that the Congregation hoped to achieve in a short time. It was not until the time of Father Gian Carlo Pirroni that it grew with renewed vigor and spirit[94].

In addition to the two study houses in Italy, a third study house was founded in Horn, in the then province of Germania, at the end of 1664, in the generalate of Father Scassellati. There, under the direction of Father Thomas Kosteleczki of St. Wenceslas, a former student of the juniorate of St. Pantaleo, the first study of rational philosophy was opened for seven clerics of the said province[95]. A year later, in May 1665, the student house was moved to Nicolsburg and studies in the humanities were placed before philosophical studies[96].

It is true that all these initiatives for the proper conduct of Piarist studies could hardly satisfy the increasingly urgent needs of the Congregation. However, considering the previous situation of studies in the Calasanzian Institute, they must be considered a sign of real progress and a fruitful seed for future development.

CHAPTER III

EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF THE INSTITUTE

The legal situation of the Pious Schools as a Congregation with simple vows, which entailed an excessive dependence on the Ordinaries, the great poverty and the sharp drop in the number of religious during the decade of the Innocentian reduction made the expansion of the Institute very difficult. Nevertheless, as in the Generalate of Fr. John García, some progress was made during Fr. Scassellati’s six-year term of office; not so much in terms of the increase in the number of foundations, but rather in terms of legal development and the increase in the number of Provinces.

As for the foundations in Italy, on June 27, 1661, the House of Isili was established, the third in Sardinia[97]; on January 27, 1664, the foundation stone was laid in Brindisi[98] and at the end of the same year the House of Pescina was also founded, based on the will of Don Lelio Tomassetti, which was confirmed by a Brief from Pope Alexander VII[99]. In Rome itself, on March 8, 1660, the Piarists took definitive possession of the church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus, which had already been given to the religious in 1657 by His Excellency, Duke Cesi of Acquasparta[100]. In the same period, they gave up the house of Calizzano by decree of the General Chapter of 1659[101]. Outside Italy, in the province of Bohemia, the Piarists opened the House of Schlackenwerth, founded by Duchess Anna of Saxe-Lauenburg[102].

But, as already mentioned, the progress was not so much in the increase in the number of houses, but rather in the formation and development of the Provinces.

Thus, on the island of Sardinia, the Professed House of Cáller was founded in 1640[103] and the House of Probation in the same city in 1645[104], although it only existed as a branch until 1661. These two houses - legally one - were initially directly subordinate to the Superior General, but later, in the General Chapter, which took place on May 19, 1659,

“…with the consent of all, it was decided that the house of Cáller in Sardinia, which depends directly on Father General, should be attached to the Roman Province until a province can be established in Sardinia by increasing the number of houses”[105].

Since in the following year, 1660, disagreements had arisen among certain fathers in Cáller[106], Father Scassellati immediately decided to send a Visitator there, in the person of Father Peter Lucas Battaglione of St. Michael, Assistant General, who was very familiar with the problems of the Piarists in Sardinia[107], and who arrived in Cáller in October of the same year, accompanied by Father Charles Rosani of St. Benedict as secretary. After carefully examining all persons and matters, he declared the House of Probation of Cáller independent of the Professed House, since he had special powers from the General and the Cardinal Protector; and on February 1, 1661 appointed its first rector in the person of Father Louis Cavada of St. Andrew, Master of Novices[108].

The same Visitator also prepared the foundation of the third Sardinian house, that of Isili. Finally, in May 1661, when he was about to return to Rome, he appointed Father Peter Riany of St. Peregrine as Provincial Vicar, in the certain hope of creating the Province immediately after the foundation of the house of Isili[109].

After the foundation of Isili had taken place on June 27th, the new Sardinian Province, which had already been decided on June 2nd in the General Congregation in Rome[110], was established on July 2nd. Its first provincial was Fr. Pedro Riany de S. Peregrino[111].

Thus, thanks to the care and concern of Scassellati, the Province of Sardinia was born, which was later to benefit the education of children and the cultivation of letters and sciences in Sardinia[112] so much, until it was completely extinguished in 1866 due to the general suppression of religious Orders.

However, with the early death of Father Peter Riany, its first provincial, the Sardinian province soon found itself in a serious situation, and when Father Dominic Marchia of St. Francis was appointed provincial in 1665, there were serious reasons to fear that the whole work of Father Scassellati, which had been so carefully prepared, would be reduced to practically nothing. The precarious situation of the Province only took a turn for the better in 1670, when Father Onofrio Conti of the Blessed Sacrament was appointed Provincial, who, after the dissidents had been removed or silenced, completely restored the old religious observance. For this reason, there is every reason to consider him the second founder of the Province[113].

In addition to the foundation of the Sardinian Province in 1661, the separation of the Province of Poland from the Province of Germania, which took place at the beginning of 1662, on February 10th, at the suggestion of Father John Dominic Franchi, the Provincial, due to the difficulty of administering each of the houses scattered over such a large area, contributed significantly to the progress of the Institute[114]. The province of Germania, which already had a vice-provincial since 1659[115], initially had six houses; and the province of Poland, which had finally become a province sui iuris, had three houses. This separation and the resulting freedom of action certainly encouraged both provinces to work even more effectively to strengthen and spread the Institute. The happy progress made by the two Provinces in the following lustrums clearly demonstrates to what extent and at what level such an incentive was truly valuable.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCES

As regards the upright and prudent government of the individual Provinces, we must justly ascribe to Father General the fact that he always took great account of the relative autonomy of the Provinces and that he never prevented the celebration of Provincial Chapters at the proper time; but on the contrary, always urged their convocation when it seemed to the provincials concerned that there were important questions in the Province worthy of being discussed in a solemn assembly of the capitular fathers. It was in this spirit that he convened the Provincial Chapters to be held in 1661 and 1664[116], at which he wanted what was prescribed in the Constitutions to be scrupulously observed.

However, even if Father Scassellati was anxious to show his paternal benevolence towards all the Provinces, this did not apply, at least in part, to the Roman Province, whose leadership he took over himself in the first three years of his generalate, either directly or through Visitators or Commissioners[117].

It was not until February 10, 1662 that a new Roman provincial, Father Vincent Berro, was appointed at the request of the Holy Apostolic Visitation[118], after he had previously made it clear that the said Father had no jurisdiction over the Piarist houses already established or yet to be established in Rome[119]. This statement deeply angered Father Berro, who also explained his position to the Holy Apostolic Visitation[120]. However, in a decree published on May 4, 1662, the latter merely confirmed what the General Congregation had already established on February 10, 1661[121].

Accordingly, Father Berro had no choice but to humbly, albeit reluctantly, submit to the will of his superiors. Moreover, the delicate problem of the delimitation of jurisdiction between the General and the Roman Provincial, which Father Berro himself had raised, gave rise to many small discussions and disagreements in the following lustrums and even centuries, which only seem to have found a final solution in our days.

In the second three years of his tenure, Father Scassellati also encountered many difficulties in the administration of the Province of Naples. On February 10, 1662, Father Angel Morelli of St. Dominic was placed at the head of the Province[122], but he resigned shortly afterwards. His resignation was accepted on March 10th[123], and on the 17th of the same month, Father Onofrio Conti was elected Provincial of Naples by the unanimous vote of the General Congregation[124]. But old habits die hard, so difficulties arose immediately and he was soon forced to resign. At first this was ignored; later, however, when Father Scassellati saw that Father Onofrio was acting against him before the Roman Curia, he willingly accepted the resignation in the hope that Father Onofrio would be excluded from the next General Chapter and a new provincial would be appointed in his place who was more attached to Father General. This action aroused great indignation in Fr. Conti, so that he did not hesitate to report the matter to both Cardinal Ginetti and D. Prospero Fagnano. But he got nothing. On the contrary, his written memorandum to Prospero Fagnano was forwarded to Father Joseph Pennazzi, the General Procurator, for information and with a request for a vote, leaving Father Conti almost completely at the mercy of his opponents[125].

DIFFICULTIES WITHIN THE GENERAL CONGREGATION ITSELF

In the General Congregation itself, Father Scassellati was not popular with everyone. This was not so much because he spent most of his six-year term of office outside the house of St. Pantaleo, namely at Collegio Nazareno[126], but rather because he, who had fought so hard for the rights of the General Assistants and above all for their decisive vote during Fr. García’s generalate, hardly wanted to grant his Assistants the same rights after his appointment as General. Even after the Brief promulgated on April 28, 1660, in which the aforementioned rights were redefined with greater clarity, he threatened the Assistants more than once with expulsion from the General Congregation because they might express an opinion that contradicted his own[127]. Thus Fr. Joseph Fedele, Assistant General, who had once been his unconditional ally against Fr. García, became, at least temporarily, one of his fiercest opponents[128]. Father Scassellati tried to overcome these difficulties, which had arisen within the General Congregation itself, by replacing the deceased Fathers with assistants who were devoted to him. Thus, when Father Glicerio Cerutti died on October 29, 1660, he appointed Father Miguel Geiselbrunner from the province of Germania[129] on January 26, 1661. In place of Father Peter Louis Battaglione, who died on December 6, 1663, Father Nicholas Menegatti of St. Francis Xavier from the Roman Province[130] was elected on the 8th of the same month thanks to the intervention of the Cardinal Vicar. He was also appointed Secretary of the General Congregation on January 18, 1664[131]. The fierce resistance of Father Onofrio Conti, who rightly opposed his election, was in vain. In the memorandum addressed to D. Prospero Fagnano, he had spoken out in favor of the nullity of the election[132]. In this way, Father Nicholas Menegatti and Father Joseph Pennazzi, the General Procurator, offered themselves to Father Scassellati as a reliable support to make it easier to push through his plans and projects in the Curia or the General Congregation itself.

OTHER AFFAIRS OF GOVERNMENT

EXECUTION OF THE DECREES OF THE GENERAL CHAPTER

As far as the other affairs of his government were concerned, Father Scassellati endeavored to strictly follow the wishes and decrees of the General Chapter that had elected him. This was his approach to the question of the Constitutions, which the capitulars, on May 24, 1659,

“… resolved with absolute unanimity that the adulterated version of the Constitutions from the Latin language into any other language shall be forbidden under pain of excommunication, and declare that no credence can be given to it; moreover, all are bound under the same penalty, which will ‘ipso facto’ affect them, to deliver them up to the provincials and to disclose to them if they know that the Constitutions are thus rendered, translated and adulterated in the possession of anyone. They further declare that the Constitutions written in Latin must be considered true and valid if they are signed by our Father General, the Provincial or the Visitator. Furthermore, the Provincials and Visitators are strictly ordered to put this into practice at the next Visitation and to take great care to ensure that all previous Chapters are handed over to them”.

Right at the beginning of his Generalate, on July 29, 1659, Father Scassellati prescribed by decree what the Chapter had desired[133]. He proceeded in the same way on the question of the Common Rites; here, however, he was unable to comply with the wishes of the General Chapter, which on May 19, 1659 had instructed Father General and his Assistants to “draw up the Rules and the Common Rites within a year”[134]. The final text of the Rules and Common Rites could only be completed and approved at the General Chapter of 1665[135].

PROCESS OF THE BEATIFICATION OF CALASANZ

The process of the beatification of Calasanz was also carried out in accordance with the wishes of the Chapter Fathers, who on May 24th,

“…unanimously expressed the wish that there should be a Procurator of our Venerable Father and Founder... who should continue the process of his life”[136].

As soon as he assumed the office of Supreme Moderator on August 26, 1659, he commissioned and appointed Father Joseph Pennazzi of St. Eustace to that office, directing him to do and execute whatever seemed necessary and proper in the matter[137]. But the appointment of Father Pennazzi, who was already occupied with too many other matters, was of little use in so important a cause. Quite a few of the Fathers of St. Pantaleo communicated this to the Prelates of the Apostolic Visitation[138], who persuaded Father General to have Father Vincent Berro, who had really taken up the cause, come from Genoa to Rome. Father Scassellati, who had already decided on May 21, 1661 to call Father Berro to Rome for the same reason[139], but had then ordered him to remain in Genoa[140] because of the unforeseen death of the provincial who was to replace him, did not refuse to do what was asked of him, and in January 1662 he ordered Father Vincent to come to Rome[141], and on February 10th of the following year he also appointed him Roman Provincial. In reality it was the patent of the provincialate that he gave him[142], but not that of postulator in the cause of the Holy Founder, so that Father Pennazzi remained postulator of the cause, in law but not in fact, until October 9, 1665, when the new general, Father Cosimo Chiara, appointed three postulators, namely Fathers Pennazzi and Morelli, general assistants, and Father John Charles Caputi[143]. Nevertheless, Father Berro, although he did not enjoy the full exercise of his office and had to fight not a few battles with Father General himself over the jurisdiction of the Roman provincial, received some postulatory letters for the beatification of Calasanz in 1664, and of the greatest importance, such as the letters from Maria Luisa, Queen of Poland, and from the Grand Duke of Etruria, Ferdinand II[144].

In the same year, a life of Calasanz, written by Father Juan Francisco Bischetti of Jesus Mary[145], was also printed. But it was only later that more far-reaching steps were taken in the cause of beatification, namely during the tenure of Father Cosimo Chiara, especially with the help of Father Caputi.

CULTIVATION OF LETTERS AND SCIENCES

Father Scassellati’s leadership was even more effective and profitable with regard to the promotion and cultivation of letters and sciences in the Calasanzian Institute. He advocated and defended with his authority as Supreme Moderator, in the sense of the General Chapter[146], the rights and good organization of each of the libraries and archives of the Institute[147], although he must also be held responsible, at least in part, for the crime, never entirely deplorable, by which several documents from the time and government of Calasanz, as well as the trial of Fr. Mario, were snatched from the hands of Father Peter Mussesti and thrown into the fire, mainly thanks to the work of Father Glicerio Cerutti[148].

Under the patronage of Father Scassellati, Queen Christina, then residing in Rome, and the prelates of the Holy Roman Rota, Father Joseph Pennazzi, together with Father Alexis Armini, founded a literary group in 1659 for the students of the Collegio Nazareno, called the “Academy of the Uneducated” (Academia degli Incolti), which for centuries became a fertile breeding ground for men highly cultured in literature and science[149]. Along with this academy there was also an illustrious line of Piarist writers, whom included, under the direction of Father Scassellati himself, Father Alexis Armini, later General of the Order, Father John Francis Bischetti, Father Joseph Penazzi and others of lesser importance.

At that time, the famous and illustrious cultivator of the humanities, Father Charles Mazzei of St. Anthony of Padua, who was professor of grammar and humanities at the schools of St. Pantaleo for several decades, wrote several important works, which he did not print for the time being[150]. Father Scassellati made every effort to promote and develop the pedagogical and didactic work of the Piarist schools, as can be seen, for example, in the happy development of Collegio Nazareno, which was achieved during his generalate and rectorate[151], and in the slow but solid growth of the schools of S. Pantaleo, which, after having been reduced to six classes in 1657 for lack of teachers and fear of the plague[152], had eight classes again in 1660-61, namely the first to fourth classes for grammar, the arithmetic class, the third and fourth classes for writing and the first class for reading, with a total of six hundred and fifty-six students. The teacher of the first class for grammar and humanities was for many years Father Charles Mazzei, a famous connoisseur of Latin literature, highly esteemed by Alexander VII himself, about whom we have already spoken on another occasion. The schools at that time had four oratories for the children: that of the Assumption, that of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, that of St. Joseph and that of the Holy Redeemer. There the exercises of Christian doctrine were held daily; and on Saturday, the confrontation among the pupils about the same, as well as the monthly confession of all students and communion for those who could receive it[153].

PREPARATION FOR THE GENERAL CHAPTER

Amidst the memorable sorrows - and a rare satisfaction - of his administration, Father Scassellati arrived in May 1664, when he scheduled the celebration of the Provincial Chapters in the Congregation of Pious Schools, which, among other things, were to elect two delegates for the General Chapter to be held in May 1665[154]. Once this had been done, there was nothing left to do but convene the General Chapter. Father Scassellati hesitated a little before doing so, however, because he hoped that he could now somehow win back what he had lost in 1660 through the Brief Cum, sicut accepimus, i.e. the generalate for life, or that he would at least manage to stay in government for another six years. But he would even have been satisfied with a one-year extension. With this in mind, his close friend and tireless defender, Father Joseph Pennazzi, General Procurator, sent a new memorandum to the Pope[155]. But the Fathers of the opposing party, headed by Father Onofrio Conti, as soon as they knew Father Scassellati’s intentions, also immediately submitted a memorandum to the Pope in which they requested the convocation of the General Chapter in accordance with the Constitutions and the Brief Cum, sicut accepimus[156]. When Alexander VII agreed to this request, Father Scassellati had no choice but to humbly ask the Pope to convene the General Chapter[157]. On December 20, 1664, he convoked the Chapter for the month of May of the following year, 1665, which was to be celebrated in Rome in the house of St. Pantaleo[158].

After this intimation, Father Scassellati, together with Father Pennazzi, endeavored to ensure that both, he and the aforementioned Father, received certain privileges in the Institute after they left office, as do the former superiors of other Religions. To this end, he presented Alexander VII again a written memorandum, in which he requested that the General, after completing his six-year term of office, should take the place immediately below that of the incumbent General, receive a place and a vote in the Chapters and General Congregations, have the opportunity to choose the house that seemed good to him, and have a brother to serve him in everything for the rest of his life. For the General Procurator leaving office, the privilege of receiving a place and a vote in the Chapters and General Congregations was requested[159].

Almost all of these privileges were granted to them at the General Chapter itself, in the morning session on Monday, May 11, 1665, except that the former General Procurator and the former General Assistants were only granted the ability to participate in the Provincial Chapters[160].

LAST ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN THE GENERALATE FOR LIFE

Although Father Scassellati prepared and arranged everything for the moment when he had to leave the Generalate, he never gave up his efforts to be re-elected at the General Chapter. It is thanks to this circumstance that on April 4, 1664, after much hesitation, he accepted the resignation of Father Onofrio Conti, the Provincial of Naples[161], and later, at the beginning of 1665, sent a Memorandum to Alexander VII via the General Procurator, in which he asked that the then Rector of the House of St. Pantaleo be given a place and a vote in the General Chapters due to the special dignity of his office[162]. The rector of St. Pantaleo’s House at the time was Father Dominic Marchia of St. Francis, lecturer in philosophy and theology at the juniorate there, who was also his ardent supporter[163].

This led to the celebration of the General Chapter, which took place between May 4th and 20th, 1665 and at which, in the absence of Father Onofrio and thanks to the persuasiveness and diligence of his friends[164], the contrary party won against Father Scassellati. On the morning of May 13th, in the third ballot, Father Cosimo Chiara, Provincial of Sicily, was elected General with 18 votes out of 30 cast. In the afternoon of the same day, Fathers Angel Morelli of St. Dominic, Francis Potestá of Jesus, Alexis Armini of Conception and Joseph Pennazzi of St. Eustace were elected General Assistants. In this way, Fr. Camillo Scassellati was completely excluded from the General Congregation for the next six years[165]. Mention should be made of the attempts of Fr. Joseph Fedele who, with the help of Donna Lucrezia Cayetana Caffarelli, had requested his election by Cardinal Ginetti through the orator of the King of France, Elpidio Benedetti[166].

After the conclusion of the General Chapter, Father Scassellati retired to his Collegio Nazareno, which he had retained the direction of, and where he devoted himself body and soul to the teaching ministry and took up a diligent activity with the publication of his texts or books, most of them scholastic[167]. At least three of them were published in 1665; the others appeared in the following years, until 1672, the year in which his last book sent to the press saw the light of day. All these works, written with the art, intelligence and pen of a highly qualified teacher, constitute the program of a complete course in the humanities, since they include, from the first elements of grammar to the heights of rhetoric and poetics, excellent rules and a practice recommended by experience, that are clear, brief and adapted to the abilities of the students. The reading of these works perfectly reveals both the Calasanzian pedagogue, who loved the highest degree of brevity, utility and clarity, and the skillful orator[168], although he was not exempt from the defects of his time, and the poet, who was gifted with a singular ease in expressing his thoughts in verse, although in many cases he lacked true poetic genius[169]. It must also be praised that he counted among his students the most famous specialist in Latin literature that the Piarist Order ever had, Father Charles Mazzei of St. Anthony of Padua[170].

The last manuscript work of the great pedagogue was the Promptuarium Variae Eruditionis addiscentium compendio accomodatum. It is nothing other than a repertory of synonymous words and terms as well as humanistic scholarship, which was completed in 1675 and is kept in the Calasanzian Library of St. Pantaleo. It is an outstanding testimony to the spirit and true pedagogical genius of Father Scassellati, who maintained the Calasanzian zeal for teaching until his death; moreover, he matured it over the years and increased its effectiveness. His thoughts on the proper education in piety and writing of children, especially the poor, emerge clearly from one of his theses on this subject in the Progimnatic Method[171].

While Father Scassellati was busy teaching and writing, he joined the General Congregation during the General Chapter in May 1671 by papal Brief as the first Assistant[172] to Father Fedele, who had just been elected Superior General. However, marked by old age and ill-treated by podagra, he took less and less part in the affairs of government and devoted the rest of his life to his humanist hobbies and his beloved pupils.

At the General Chapter of 1677, he was appointed General Assistant for the third time, together with Father Gian Carlo Pirroni, the newly elected Superior General[173]; but he was no longer able to do anything in or for the government. He spent his life in Collegio Nazareno until May 21, 1678, at the age of 68 years and 52 years of religion, when he gave his immortal soul to God, extinguished by the pains and torments of podagra and quiragra, or rather of the cancer that had appeared in his legs and hands[174]. His mortal remains were buried in the church of St. Pantaleo next to the altar of the Annunciation[175].

EPILOGUE

In conclusion, while we cannot fully repeat what Father Rodolfo Brasavola wrote about Father Scassellati in his Emerologia, namely that he was “an extraordinary man for his gifts of prudence and discretion and for his great learning”[176], we cannot deny that there is much truth in this statement. Father Scassellati was truly a man of “outstanding qualities”[177] and great learning who, through his words and his work, increased the fame of the Institute of the Pious Schools and in particular of Collegio Nazareno in Rome.

He was perhaps of greater stature as a “private man”, i.e. as a learned religious and as a pedagogue, gifted with great skill in the art of teaching and great zeal, as the author of numerous texts and textbooks and also as Rector of Collegio Nazareno for thirty-two years, than as a religious who held the highest offices in the Order; although, as General, he also accomplished some not negligible achievements in the expansion of the Institute, the promotion of studies and the most careful administration of the government. Certainly, we must regret that he made little effort to control his excessive passion for command, with which, as we have seen, he sometimes sought not the good of the Institute but his own, surrounded by a few followers. As a religious, however, he can by no means be described as undisciplined. But he was always convinced that the strictness of the old Calasanzian Constitutions could hardly be observed in the Institute without causing it serious harm. For this reason, he made generous use of the facilities granted to the Piarists by the first Brief of Alexander VII. The Fathers, who were most attached to the old Calasanzian discipline, could never forgive him for this. This gave rise to many difficulties and controversies, which even the Brief Cum, sicut accepimus, an extremely important support for the original Calasanzian observance, could not eradicate; on the contrary, it intensified them. On the one hand, Father Scassellati continued as before, following the easier path, and on the other hand, the conservative Fathers, supported by the new papal document, propagated their theses with even greater vigor and vehemence.

The compromise and the fruitful synthesis came about only in the following years, with Fr. John Charles Pirroni and his immediate successors as Generals; that is, when the authentic Calasanzian spirit was maintained in its integrity and purity, and those mutations which the signs of the times and the requirements of the Calasanzian Institute had long prudently recommended were gradually introduced.

However, what Father Scassellati can really be blamed for, at least to a certain extent, is the fact that, as a General, after he had been satisfied with Alexander VII’s first Brief, he almost completely failed to restore the Institute to its original state, or rather, to continue to deal with the question of its restoration. But let us not simply condemn him for this either. For it was very difficult, during the lifetime of Alexander VII - who had already issued three Briefs for the good administration of the Pious Schools[178] - to propose that this serious matter be re-examined. This should be much better dealt after the death of Alexander VII.

Having duly considered all these circumstances, we cannot simply condemn the government of Father Scassellati, as did Fathers Berro, Caputi and Conti while he did still alive and, not so long ago, Father Leodegario Picanyol[179]. The error attributed to him, namely that he neglected the primitive Calasanzian observance and took a different, less difficult path of religious discipline, can in no way be described as a mistake, but only as a new assessment of Piarist realities and problems made by a man who was certainly not as ascetic as Calasanz, but in some things perhaps more practical. In fact, most of his theses, so fiercely attacked by the rigorous followers of the old Calasanzian discipline, were later endorsed by history itself, both in what concerns the interpretation of extreme poverty and the renunciation of the custom of accompanying children home, walking barefoot and the use of surnames in civil relationships.

Father Scassellati was certainly not a man of Calasanzian stature, neither in terms of sanctity of morals, nor in the loftiness of the undertakings he advocated, nor in pure zeal for the house of God. We cannot deny, however, that he sincerely loved the Calasanzian Institute, that he worked for its consolidation and diffusion, and that he was also an excellent educator, a most learned man of human letters, an expert in the Latin language, a meritorious promoter of studies in the Order, and a worthy moderator of the Piarist Institute; who, if he had not had such an excessive passion to occupy the highest position in the Religion, could undoubtedly have become one of the most important Superior Generals of the Order.

NOTES

1 As far as the place of origin is concerned, Father Scassellati himself is often referred to as “from Urbino”, which is also recorded in other official documents. As for the name of the father and his profession, see the declaration of Fr. Camillo himself in the Ordinary Process (Reg. Cal, 30, f. 73); as to the year, Father Picanyol assures us that he was born in 1611 (P VII, p. 376), but some documents prefer 1610. Cf. catalogue of religious from 1617 to 1637 (no. 176), where he is mentioned:

“Camillo de S. Jerónimo, civily called de Scassellati, 15 years old, received the habit on May 1, 1626 in the novitiate of Rome from the hands of Father James of St Paul, master of novices. He made his solemn profession on May 3, 1628, also in Rome, in the Professed House of the Pious Schools, in the hands of M.R.Fr. Joseph of the Mother of God. He was ordained a priest in Narni on March 22, 1636, Holy Saturday”.

Although this document seems to prefer the year 1611, it does not exclude the year 1610, which is more in line with the assertion of the Book of the Dead (Reg. Rel., 36), in which we find the following about Father Scassellati (f. 91, year of the Lord 1678):

“Father Camillo of St. Jerome, of Urbino, former General, III General Assistant and Rector of Collegio Nazareno, a man of sublime qualities. He published several works on the liberal arts concerning the activity of our Institute or the practice of our schools. He died in Rome at Collegio Nazareno from podagra and severe suppuration from the many abscesses in his feet. On May 21, at the age of 69 and 54 years of religion.”

Cf. also the Catalogue of Rectors of Collegio Nazareno (Reg. Prov. 36, N. 4), where it is stated that Father Scassellati died on May 21, 1678, at the age of 69. Moreover, in his Brevis conspectus (p. 6), Father Picanyol himself gives 1610 as his year of birth. As for the family, see C. Caputi, Notizie Historiche, 11, 4, ff . 117-120, where we find that Father Nicolò M. Gavotti falsely claimed that Father Scassellati was an illegitimate son. The authors who refer to the writers of Urbino mention only very few dates and only incidentally to Father Scassellati, especially when they refer to Fr. Jerome Vernaccia (1672-1746). Cf. Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, 86, p. 232; P. Cario Grossi, Degli Uomini lllustri di Urbino Commentario, Urbino, 1819, p. 112; Conte Pompeo Gherardi, Degli Uomini Illustri di Urbino Commentario, Urbino, 1856, p. 115.

N.B. The life of Father Scassellati has not yet been critically examined by any biographer. The most comprehensive work that exists to date is that of Fr. Llanas for his Escolapios Insignes, II, Madrid, 1899, pp. 345-352. Some biographical and bibliographical references are provided by T. Viñas, Index Bio-Bibliographicus CC. PP. Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum, I, Rome, 1908, pp. 83-84; and much earlier A. Horányi, Piarum Scholarum Scriptores, II, Buda, 1809, pp. 627-630; on the written works of Fr. Scassellati, see T. Garrido, Calasanctiades insignes latinitatis assertores, Fr. Camillus Scassellati, “Eph. Cal.” III (1934) 258-266. For bibliographical news, see L. Picanyol, La Biblioteca Scolopica di S. Pantaleo di Roma, I, Roma, 1952, pp. 186-187; Idem, Rerum Latinarum Scriptores, Roma, 1956, pp. 70, 149, 197, 210. Finally, some data on his generalate can be found in L. Picanyol, Lezioni di storia scolopica, in “Rassegna di Storia e Bibliografia scolopica” XVI (1950) 19-22.

2 Cf. the Catalogue of Religious.

3 As for the day of the dressing, see the above-mentioned Catalogue of Religious; then the Book of Novices from the year 1623 (Reg. Cal., XI, 11), where in number 135 we read the following:

“On May 1 (1626) Jerome Scassellati of Urbino, 15 years of age, now called Camillus of St. Jerome, cleric, received the habit in Rome and made the solemn profession on May 3, 1628.

The same appears in the Book of Professed (Reg. Cal., XI, 4).

4 In the time of dressing his Master was Fr. James Graziani of St. Paul, as is recorded in the Catalogue of Religious (Reg. Cal., 14); but he was appointed rector of the house of St. Pantaleon on October 18th and Provincial of Rome on January 30, 1627. Father Glicerio Cerutti of the Nativity of the Lord was appointed in his place, as is recorded in the same Catalogue of Religious, ff. 16-18.

5 Cf. Catalogue of Religious, in note 1.

6 Cf. letters 194 (P 1214) and P 1302.

7 On the priest A. Baiano and his presence in the house of St. Pantaleon and in Collegio Nazareno, G. Santha, San José de Calasanz. Su obra. Escritos. Madrid, 1956, pp. 176,183-184,220,226,234; as for the fact that A. Baiano was preceptor of Fr. Scassellati, see the work of Fr. Scassellati himself, Methodus epistolaris, Rome, 1966, pp. 142-144. 150-157. 163.

8 The text of this memorandum is in the Vatican Apostolic Library (Codex Ottobonianus 2465^1, ff. 33r and 40v) and reads as follows:

Most Emm. and Rev. Sir:

Since the Holiness of Our Lord should appoint the General of the Congregation of the Fathers of Pious Schools, which has been reestablished with so much compassion by His Holiness, Your Excellency is humbly requested to consider Father Camillo Scassellati of St. Jerome, a native of Urbino, 50 years old, thirty-one of them he has been in the Congregation. He has been a teacher of humanities and rhetoric for many years in Naples, Genoa, Pisa, Narni and Rome; he has been master of the young religious in the said congregation and superior of the house of Pisa, of the novitiate in Rome and today he is rector of Collegio Nazareno , subject to the auditors of the Rota, a position in which he was placed ten years ago by Your Excellency when you held the office of Auditor, following a report from the Founder of the Congregation. (and having held these positions, he has never left to teach), since he possesses the virtue that perhaps makes him worthy of such dignity and of the graces of Your Excellency, to whom God, etc.”.

9 Cf. Methodus epistolaris, pp. 145-146.

10 Cf. Methodus epistolaris, pp. 145-146.

11 Cf. Methodus epistolaris, pp. 163-165.

12 On the beginning of this rectorate, see P 3628; Cf. Methodus epistolaris, p. 167; as for the end, see the letters of Fr. Scassellati addressed from Pisa to the Visitator and the Assistants (Reg. Prov, XXI, Prov. Etruria, 4), especially the last one dated September 10, 1645.

13 Cf. letters: P 3834, P 3842, P 3880, 576 (P 3910), P 3918, P 3921, P 3939, P 3945, P 3959, P 3961, 586 (P 3970), P 3973, 587 (P 3978), P 3981, P. 4036.

14 Cf. the letter of Fr. Scassellati of October 9, 1643 addressed from Moricone to Fr. Pietrasanta (Reg. Prov., XXI, Prov. Etruria, 4).

15 According to Fr. B. Bartlik this change of residence took place immediately after the promulgation of the Brief of reduction (Annales, ff. 369-370); however, according to Father C. Caputi (o. c., I, 1, n. 310) it happened only after the feast of St. Pantaleo of that year, therefore at the end of July or the beginning of August.

16 Cf. C. Caputi, o. c., I, 1, nn. 310-317; B. Bartlik, o. c., ff. 369-370; “Ephem. Cal.” XXIX (1960) 269.

17 Cf. C. Caputi, o. c., I, 1, n. 394.

18 This edition is not indicated in L. Picanyol, Rerum Latinarum Scriptores, Rome, 1956. The pamphlet however is found in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Codex Ottobonianus 2453, f. 382 ff.); the same sermon also appears in the work of Fr. Scassellati, Florum fasciculus, Rome, 1667, pp. 188-196.

19 Cf. V. Berro, Memorie Historiche, III, 2, f. 146; C. Caputi, o. c., I, 2, n. 436.

20 Cf. L. Picanyol, Rerum Latinarum Scriptores, p. 149; Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Cod. Ottob., 2453, E. 376 s); C. Scassellati, Florum fasciculus, pp. 151-187.

21 J. C. Caputi, o. c., II, 4, f. 11.

22 J. C. Caputi, o. c., II, 4, ff. 69-70. Cf. also “Eph. Cal.” XXX (196l) 105, note 89 bis.

23 The Memorandum is in the Vatican Apostolic Library (Cod. Ottob. 24651, ff. 36-37) and reads as follows:

“Most Eminence and Rev. Sir: Joseph Pennazzi of St. Eustace, priest of the Congregation of the Pious Schools, presently Prefect of Collegio Nazareno, having learned of the forthcoming readjustment of the said Congregation and moved only by the zeal of the service of God, humbly dares to present the following things, in order to contribute to the permanence of the Institute:

1º) It should be forbidden that the said fathers go barefoot to avoid immodesty, in keeping with what a purpurate said: You, fathers, who deal so frequently with your neighbor, should even have your hands covered.

2º) It should be forbidden to accompany the children, because this work of charity only serves to relax the Institute, given the freedom of the one who accompanies to go with this pretext wherever he pleases, without the knowledge of the superiors; and for the same reason the authority of the superiors is diminished.

3º) They should not be allowed to have stable goods, in order to escape the hatred of the world, which preys on the religious who possess them; since an annual income is sufficient for the Fathers.

4º) The General and the Assistants should be authorized to moderate the rigor of the old Constitutions, which they consider impossible to fulfill, notwithstanding the prohibition of not being able to change them outside of the General Chapter, with the agreement of five-sixths of the members.

5º) The schoolmasters should be priests, and no one could be superior if he had not worked nine years in the school, so that this would serve as a stimulus for the young men to apply themselves to their studies and lead an upright life.

6º) For this first time, and in order to avoid expenses and long journeys, the Superior General and the four Assistants should be appointed by the cardinals and prelates in charge of the readjustment of the Congregation.

As for the subjects, it is submitted for your consideration that they would be suitable: Fr. Francis Castelli of the Purification, 72 years old, ex-assistant, appointed by Gregory XV of happy memory; Fr. Joseph Fedele of the Visitation, aged 55, who has been provincial of Rome, Naples and Genoa for 10 years, besides holding other offices, and has taught for twenty years; Fr. Camillo Scassellati of St. Jerome, rector of Collegio Nazareno , appointed by Your Excellency when you held the office of Auditor of the S. Rota, and for ten years he has been teaching at the said school, a ministry he has exercised for more than thirty years, in addition to other governmental responsibilities. All three are subjects of excellent manners, very practical in government, versed in different sciences and worthy of any position.

Therefore, the petitioner wished to make this known to Your Excellency, knowing how anxious he is that the youth be well educated and imbued with the fear of God and modesty. May God, etc.

From the back: To His Eminence

and Rev. Cardinal Corradi, Datario.

By Joseph Pennazzi, of the Pious Schools.

24 The text of this Memorandum is found in note B.

25 J. C. Caputi, o. c., II, ff . 117-121; as for Count Dominic Ubaldini, see Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, t. 49, p. 51.

26 Cf. “Ephem. Cal.” XXX (1961) 97.

27 Cf. “Ephem. Cal.” XXX (1961) 130.

28 Cf. “Ephem. Cal.” XXX (]961) 130-131.

29 Cf. Regest. Prov. 36, N. 9; cf. also B. Bartlik, o. c., ff. 456-457.

30 On the discourse of Fr. Scassellati see the Minutes of the General Chapter of 1659, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” I (1936) 10 and B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 461r; for the details of that Chapter see, in addition to the Minutes, L. Picanyol, Lezioni di storia scolopica, in “Rassegna di Storia e Bibliografi a Scolopica” XVI (1950) 17; finally, on the probable election of Fr. Onofrio Conti, see his own letter of May 31, 1659, addressed from Rome to Count Bernardo Martinitz (Reg. Servorum Dei, 60, 29):

“Most Illustrious and Most Revered Lord, Most Revered Master. I hereby communicate to Your Excellency the election of our Father General, who is Father Camillo of St. Jerome, who was Assistant General. Thanks be to God, I have freed myself from the fear that the said office would have fallen on our weak backs and broken strength, given that our Most Eminent Protector sought it with great ardor, even though I excused myself from it with very efficacious reasons with His Eminence; but by a hidden path, His Divine Majesty has taken me out of this predicament...”.

31 Nothing was expressly decreed about the duration of the office, so that everyone rightly thought that according to the ancient Constitutions the election had been for life.

32 Cf. V. Berro, o. c., ID, 2, ff. 169-170.

33 Cf. note 4.

34 See note 23; on Fr. Pennazzi cf. also the work of Giuseppe Ignazio Montanari, Elogio del P. Giuseppe Pennazza de Sant’Eustachio, sacerdote delle Scuole Pie, Rome, 1841.

35 On these decrees, see the same Minutes of the General Chapter cited above; these are collected for the reader’s convenience in B. Bartlik, o. c., ff. 464-467, whose numbering we follow here. Silence is covered in item 9.

36 N. 18.

37 N. 19.

38 N. 43.

39 N. 25.

40 This is clearly seen in the letter of Father Conti written on May 31, 1659 to Count Bernard Martinitz (Reg. of the Servants of God, 60, 29).

41 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., III, 7 (2), ff. 53-53. 53-54.

42 See the patent in Regestum litterarum Patentium et testimonialium, f. 3r, in the Vatican Secret Archives, series “Bishops and Regulars, Piarists,” 2.

43 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., III, 7 (2), n. 198; L. Picanyol, Le Scuole Pie Galileo Galilei, Rome, 1942, p. 105, where, however, it is said that Father Morelli was in Rome in 1658, while Father Caputi assures that the stay took place in 1659.

44 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., III, 7 (2), nn. 208-209. The “obedience” for his return was not obtained by Fr. Caputi until October 23, 1660 (cf. the above-mentioned Register of Patents, f. 247 r).

45 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., III, 7 (2), n. 223; B. Bartlik (o. c., f. 475) says that the rector was Father Joseph Fedele, first Assistant, but the report of the Apostolic Visitation of October 10, 1661 states that the rector was the second Assistant, that is, Father Mussesti (Arch. Secr. Vat., Arm. VII, 70, ff. 293 ff.).

46 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., V, l O, ff. 51-52; III, 7 (2), ff. 50-51.

47 The text of this Memorandum is found in the General Archives (Reg. Cal. 69, fasc. VI, n. 1) and translated from Italian and Latin it reads:

“In the decree issued by the Holy Father on January 24, 1656, in favor of the Congregation of Pious Schools, it says, among other things: “We furthermore grant to the clerics of the Congregation the power to elect the Provincial Superiors of the said Congregation and the rectors of its houses, reserving for the present the power to appoint the Superior General and the Assistants at our pleasure.”

And further, concerning the Constitutions, he orders that they be followed with these precise words:

“For the rest, we order that the ancient Constitutions of the Congregation be observed in all that is suitable and expedient for the state of a secular Congregation and in no way contrary to the present Constitution.”

In the election of the provincials of the provinces and the rectors of the houses, therefore, the Instruction is to be observed, which in this part contradicts the old Constitutions of the said Congregation. However, since the Congregation had neither then nor now rules and Constitutions that were suitable and appropriate for the conduct of such elections in the provinces and in the houses, His Eminence Cardinal Farnese, then Steward of Our Lord, and His Excellency Msgr. Gualtieri, former Secretary of the Briefs and entrusted by the Holy Father himself with the regulation of the affairs of the said Congregation, thought it appropriate to ask His Holiness for permission to issue a mandate for the election of the General and four Assistants, to grant to the Assistants, together with the General, the decisive vote in regard to the government and election of superiors, as is customary in many other ancient and observant Religions, appointed by the same Lord Cardinal and the above-mentioned prelates, namely, the Theatines, Barnabites, Minorites, and others. In this manner it was Our Lord’s pleasure to issue a Brief on April 4 of the same year 1656, declaring and decreeing that the Assistants shall have a decisive vote with the General, and shall elect one and others for the next triennium, as appears by the said Brief presented to your Lordship. For the sake of brevity, we reproduce here the contents, which are as follows:

“By virtue of this letter, by virtue of apostolic authority, we appoint, constitute and elect for the next three years, respectively, Father John García, Superior General; Father Francis Castelli, First Assistant; Father Joseph Fedele, Second Assistant; Father John Stephen Spinola, Third Assistant; Father Camillo Scassellati, Fourth Assistant of the said Secular Congregation. And we resolve and declare that the four recalled Assistants, together with Father John García, Superior General, have a decisive vote in the governance and administration of said Congregation. We grant the Superior General and the said Assistants the necessary and appropriate powers to appoint Provincials and Rectors of Houses and other Superiors of the Congregation, as prescribed in the Constitutions”.

It would seem that the above Brief, apart from the three-year term of the elected offices, should be perpetual in all other things and should be observed by the other future Assistants and Generals, in the form given for the voting, governance and elections of superiors.

l.º) Since the intention of Most Eminences Ginetti, Farnese and Most Ill. Gualteri was that it should be enacted for eternal memory as a form of government for all other major superiors.

2.º) For it is an explanation of the words of the first Brief:

“We further grant to the clerics of the Congregation the right to elect the Provincial Superiors in each Province of the said Congregation and the rectors of their houses”.

Since the clerics of the said Congregation have been conferred the power to elect their superiors in a confused manner, it was necessary to make a special declaration as to whom this power belongs, which has been done, and to declare that this concerns the General and his Assistants with the decisive vote, so that the elections may be conducted with greater satisfaction and integrity.

3.º) Because it is a declaration of the ancient Constitutions of the said Congregation, since in these the Assistants have the same decisive vote, although with some doubts. For this reason, the Pope has deigned to declare that it is such a vote, expressing: “We decree and declare that they have a decisive vote with the same Father John García, Superior General”. For the Holy Father does not grant anything new and unusual, but only declares that in the government the Assistants have the decisive vote together with the General; and the words of the Constitutions of the said Congregation are those described in Chapter 3 Of the Assistants, where it is seen that they want the General to abide by the opinion and vote of the Assistants in this way:

“The Congregation appoints four assistants by secret ballot. They shall be adorned with all virtue and experienced in the affairs of the Congregation; they shall assist the General in external problems and in matters concerning his health with foresight and faithful charity. They shall also assist him with their opinion in the judgment of doubtful questions. The General will take their opinions into account as far as possible”.

And if it may seem doubtful that, according to these words, the Assistants have such a decisive voice, the Holy Father dispelled the doubt by saying: “We decree and declare that they have a decisive vote”, referring to the above-mentioned Constitutions.

This is also clear from the exception clause of the Constitutions, which states:

“Without prejudice to the apostolic Constitutions and ordinations and, where necessary, those of the said Congregation, etc.”

For the clause “as far as necessary” is in connection with the words of the said Constitutions, as if it declared, “We derogate from them as far as necessary, for we do not think it necessary to derogate the Constitutions, provided they have the same vote, but only as far as necessary.”

4.º) Because of the danger of the nullity of the said elections, for if the fulfillment of the said second electoral mandate is not permanent in all other things except that of the triennium of persons, it was necessary that the said elections be held in the provinces and in the houses, which has not been fulfilled. Thus, they were saved from the danger of the nullity of the election, on which would depend the nullity of many acts that have been and will be done by the provincials, such as the reception of novices, admission to profession, foundation of houses, contracts, ordinations, and similar things that must be done by the Provincials.

5.º) Because it seems better and more useful that the General and the Assistants should govern the whole body of the Congregation with a decisive vote, after the example of other ancient and modern Religions, such as that of the Theatines, Barnabites, Minorites and others, so that the Constitutions may not so easily be changed or fall away from their observance, for plus vident oculi quam oculus (four eyes see more than two) and ubi multa consilia ibi salus (where there are many opinions, there lies salvation); and that in the present and all future governments the ministry of the said Congregation may be maintained in its observance and evangelical simplicity, as was the idea of Father Joseph of the Mother of God, its Founder and first General, and his companions, as is proved by the Constitutions and Rites left by his hand. Therefore, the orators beg Your Lordship, to see that they continue to be vigorously observed, especially the following points:

1) That the custom of accompanying children home be maintained.

2) That the habit is not changed in the form and quality required by the Constitutions.

3) That the modest custom of walking barefoot be maintained.

4) That children able to A B C be admitted.

5) That bedding be used in accordance with the Constitutions.

6) That no superiors be chosen who have a different opinion of the poverty and modesty of the Institute.

7) That the surnames of the saints be unwaveringly respected, i.e. that no one would be called Joseph Fedele or Camillus Scassellati, but Joseph of the Visitation and Camillus of St. Jerome, as ordered in the Constitutions.

8) That the poverty professed by the members of the Institute be observed when traveling.

As to the duration of the Generalate, since the Holiness of Our Lord has condescended to give his consent ad triennium for the past Generalate, the orators refer in everything and for everything to the will and consent of Our Lord and to the report which Your Excellency will be ready to give to the Holy Father.

It must also be remembered that the residence of Father General and the General Procurator is in the Professed House of St. Pantaleo, where it has always been, and not in a school where young secular students learn their letters, as is the case at present, to the spiritual and temporal detriment and dissatisfaction of Fathers and even of outsiders. All this they will receive as a very special grace from Your Excellency, whom God, etc.”.

48 Father Scassellati’s reply can be found in the General Archives (Reg. Cal. 69, phase 6, 2) and reads:

“Praeterea facultatem eligendi” (in addition to the ability to elect), etc.

First. It does not seem to be the intention of Our Lord to grant to all the clerics of the said Congregation the faculty of electing Provincials and Rectors, but, since this faculty has been taken from the General by the Brief of Innocent X, of holy memory, and transferred to the Ordinaries (for he has reduced the Congregation to the manner of St. Philip Neri), he restores it to the one who previously possessed it, according to the provisions of the Constitutions. In attributing such elections to the General, it would seem that one must abide by this provision, without hindering them in any way the restitutive Brief of Our Lord Pope Alexander VII, in which the clerics of the Congregation are granted the right to make such elections. For it will always be true that the election belongs to the clerics of the Congregation when it is made by the General, who is one of the clerics, as has been well proved in similar cases Cancer (var. p. 1, ch. 8, n. 101 and n. 102).

It would seem, moreover, that all difficulties have ceased, considering that the Brief has hitherto been observed in this way, even at the General chapter itself, celebrated with the authority of Our Lord last May, 1659, in the presence of all the capitular fathers. The Provinces have accepted the Provincials and Rectors elected by the General without any complaint. Today they live in complete peace and thus approve the custom that goes back to the origins of the Congregation.

Therefore, all doubts of nullity raised by the other side disappear.

All doubts of nullity raised by the opposite side are dispelled, since the aforementioned General Chapter and all the Provinces have accepted without any obstacle or complaint the Officers appointed only by the General and only with the advice of the Assistants, after having read in the same Chapter some patents issued by one of the Assistants as Secretary.

The observance is also held to be the optimum interpreter, and creates such a condition that no other mode of communication should be admitted, even though it be more true de iure (according to law). Honded, cons. 92, 11. 3, lib. Rota ante Burat. dec. e 944, n. 6.

In this respect the manuscript of our Founder, in some unpublished Common Rites, says that each province was to appoint three subjects in its Provincial Chapter, from which the General would then choose the Provincial, in order to satisfy the provinces in some way and to give the subjects an opportunity to behave well in them. But it was never the will of the Founder to give any one the decisive vote, as the opposite party supposes.

Secondly. That the Assistants were given a decisive vote in matters of government by a special order dated April 4, 1656, etc.

It is answered that the election of the General and Assistants, together with Our Lord’s Brief of restitution, was published somewhat earlier, namely, on March 12 of the same year, when the Fathers were assembled at the ringing of a bell by His Eminence Cardinal Ginetti, Protector. At that time, no decisive vote was granted to the Assistants; only His Eminence nominally announced Fathers John García, General; Francis Castelli, Joseph Fedele, John Stephen Spinola and Camillo de Scassellati, Assistants. And he added that this time N. S. had made the choice for a three-year term.

Be that as it may of the second Brief, issued on April 4th of the same year by Father Joseph Fedele, also for three years, and never published in the Chapter, with the conditions for a decisive vote and other peculiarities in the election of superiors contrary to the Constitutions of the Congregation.

It is answered that, as this second Brief is provisional, since O.L. himself declares that it shall come into force pro hac vice dumtaxa (only for this time) - these are the words of the same Brief, at the end. In this way they leave in force for the future the Constitutions of the Congregation, which grant to the Assistants only the consultative voice, as is clear in Chapter 3 of Part Three in these words: “lnsuper et consilio in rebus dubiis discernendis, quorum consilio, quoad fieri poterit, utetur (Likewise support him - the Assistants - with their opinion in the discernment of doubtful questions. The General will take their opinion into account as far as possible).

These words are unambiguous and are confirmed by the use of language since the beginnings of the Congregation. It does not appear, therefore, that they can be regarded as doubtful, nor that they require any further explanation, as the opponents suppose. And what O. L. has decreed in the Brief ad triennium tantum (for three years only) has already come into force, and after that time the Constitutions are to remain in their ancient observance, as indicated by Donato in praxi rerum. regul. p. 3, tract. 6, n. 8.

This appears from this clause, “Illis alias in suo robore permansuris” (the former must otherwise remain in force), which refers to all antecedents, though the clause at the end refers to all, ch. 2, requiris de Appell. Honded, cons. 4, n. 34. Rota Dec. e 73, n. 1, p. 1, recen.

And if the one does not refer to the antecedents, neither does the other: non obstantibus Constitutionibus etc. (notwithstanding the Constitutions), which the opposite party adduces in their favor, might, as it is connected with the above, refer to the antecedents, and therefore the Constitutions would in no wise have been repealed.

Besides, with the exception of the triennium of the letter, this consultative vote with the Assistants has always been practiced by our Founder, the Apostolic Visitator appointed by Pope Urban of holy memory, and the present General, without any obstacle or complaint.

Some well-organized Religions, dedicated to the service of others, do not allow their assistants any other vote than the consultative vote because of the sudden emergencies that arise in their institutes. Thus Suarez, De Relig. vol. 4, lib. 10, chap. 1, nos. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, who assures us that such a custom was introduced by the example of St. Basil and St. Augustine. Since the Constitutions of the Congregation provide for the consultative vote, the assistants therefore do not seem to be able to claim the decisive vote.

The opposite side claims that it was the intention of Emms. and Ilms. appointed for this purpose that the provisional Brief should be issued ad perpetuam rei memoriam (to perpetual memory), as a form of government for all future generals and assistants.

This clause is not to be read in the said Brief, but on the contrary, in these words:

“To give effect to the foregoing, we repeal them specially and expressly for this time only, and they must otherwise remain in force.”

From this it is clear that O.L. wishes the Constitutions to be observed, and that the present General insists on nothing else.

It is also a groundless assertion that it is better and more useful to govern with the decisive vote of the Assistants. Indeed, experience shows that such an assertion is not true, for it is well known that “in this way the Generals are dependent on the subjects, so that their authority diminishes not a little, and instead of one General they command many”. This is all the more true because the Constitutions of the Congregation do not express the things worthy of this decisive vow, as do the Constitutions of the other Religions, which have it instead.

Among the requests made by the other side to keep the things described in force:

1.º) That the custom of accompanying the children home be maintained:

It is answered that the General has nothing to do with it, but that it was the General Chapter that promulgated the following decree:

“By secret ballot, and with the consent of five parts of the six, it was declared and decreed that it is not expedient to accompany the children home; therefore this custom is henceforth abandoned.”

And as the Constitutions of the Congregation prescribe that five parts out of six of the Chapter must concur to alter or abolish a rule, it is certain that the four votes of the Assistants, prevailing over the vote of the General, concur in abolishing it, for many and very efficacious reasons, and on account of the inconvenience it involves, considering the convenience of the subjects being able to go where they please on such an occasion, without the knowledge of the superiors. In addition to the impossibility in which the teachers find themselves after having endured the rigors of school with an obvious deterioration of their health.

2.º) As for the changes in the type and form of habit, the contrary letter speaks freely, for there is no news of any habit being worn other than that ordered by the Constitutions and approved by the aforementioned General Chapter, the same one worn by the Founder himself.

3.º) As for walking barefoot, the General neither introduced anything new nor issued a decree on this subject. It is true that Fr. Joseph Fedele, the assistant who received the Briefs from Our Lord, publicly declared several times that it should be expressed and commanded in the Brief of Restitution to go calced, as Bishop Gualteri, the secretary of Briefs, had already said; for it did not seem proper for priests to go barefoot, especially since they belong to a Congregation and exercise a very delicate ministry, as Our Lord assures us in his Brief.

And Father Glycerio, the first Assistant, also testifies that he has heard the same from Reverend Farnese, as well as from many other Emminences and Prelates of this court, who constantly criticize this nudity. Therefore O.L. with great prudence added the following words in his Brief of Restitution, in which he confirms the ancient Constitutions of the Congregation: “In all that is suitable and useful to the state of a secular congregation”.

4.º) That children able of ABC be admitted.

This is also a gratuitous petition, as the General Chapter has made no other disposition than to confirm an order of the Founder prescribing the age of seven years for the admission of children to our schools.

5.º) That the beds be used as prescribed in the Constitutions.

This is also a gratuitous request, as nothing to the contrary has been done. During his Visitation to the Roman Province, the present General satisfied himself of the full observance of this point.

6.º) That they do not elect superiors if they think differently about poverty, humility and the Institute.

We ask to tell us who these people are and who elected them, so that the General may have information about them. Since the superiors who govern today were chosen by him as mentioned above and with the consultative vote of the assistants themselves, although he was not obliged to do so.

7.º) That the names of the religion be unwaveringly maintained.

The General did not introduce anything new in this respect and in fact he does not sign with the family name. It is true that Fr. Joseph Fedele, assistant, gave the formula of the provisional Brief for a triennium and in it proposed the surnames. But even in the letters of the popes, the Founder is called by the surname “Calasanz”, and this seems to be convenient for priests of a religion that has reduced itself to a congregation, because since their ministry requires them to deal with their neighbors all day long and to be called every moment by the name “Holy Mary”, “Blessed Sacrament”, “Jesus”, etc., many lose the veneration due to these names.

8.º) That the poverty that is professed be observed when traveling.

It is requested that special cases be denounced, as the General has nothing to answer for.

As for the duration of the General’s term of office, since he has been elected by the General Chapter assembled by order of Our Lord, in accordance with the Constitutions promulgated by Gregory XV of holy memory, it seems that the same words of the Constitutions, part 3, ch.2, should be pondered:

“Since experience and practice in governing, as well as knowledge of the people and authority over them, contribute greatly to the good exercise of this ministry (by the General), the election will be for life and not merely temporary. To this must be added another advantage: our Institute, which is constantly occupied with problems requiring untiring effort, will suffer less distraction, labor, and fatigue if there is no periodic elective Chapter” (nos. 260 and 261).

Incidentally, Navarro expresses himself in this way better and more religiously about the common law, following Donato, citing many other reasons in the practice cited above, p. 3, tract. 9 in its entirety.

But although the Constitutions prescribe the Generalate for life, the present General is ready to leave it at any time, invoking the authority of Our Lord, for he promised at his profession, like every other member of his Congregation, not to aspire directly or indirectly to any dignity. He asks, however, in all humility, not allow what Suarez, De Relig., Lomo 4, trat. 8, lib. 2, cap. 7, n. 5, to which Father Diana refers: “That the generals elected for a certain time depend on the subjects and can be raised and deposed by them” (De Relig., Lomo 4, trat. 8, lib. 2, cap. 7, n. 5).

Finally, as regards the residence of the General, it does not appear that the Constitutions, which prescribe residence only in Rome, are violated. As for Collegio Nazareno, it is not a purely lay house, but a house of religious, declared as such by the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Religious. And if the General did not leave the said school after his election, it was to satisfy and comply with the wishes of the Holy Rota, the protector of the pious foundation which he has headed for some fourteen years, apart from other reasonable motives.

The Fathers of St. Pantaleon can suffer neither spiritually nor temporally, as opponents suspect, since the house has a rector and three of the Assistants live there. There is also a private procurator who looks after their affairs. Those who come from outside cannot complain because the General Procurator goes where the general affairs of the congregation require him.

To satisfy everyone, in addition to the two days a week set aside for the meeting with the Assistants, the General goes there many other times, especially on feast days. This is all I have to say, in all modesty, in reply to the opposite letter.

Camillo, Superior General of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools”.

Other written memoranda addressed to Cardinals Ginetti, Albizzi, Fr. Ugolino and Fagnano and finally to the Auditors of the Holy Roman Rota are also in the General Archives, but their arguments do not differ substantially from the reasons given in Fr. Scassellati´s answer. However, we are going to offer the last memorandum on this subject composed by Fr. Pennazzi and entrusted to the Auditors of the Rota (Reg. Gen. 57, no. 17; the others are in the same number):

“Most Emm. and Rev. Lords:

Father Joseph Eustaquio Pennazzi de Pesara, General Procurator, informs you that on March 16, 1646, his Religion of the Fathers of Pious Schools was reduced to the manner of the Congregation of Saint Philip Neri by his Holiness Innocent X, of happy memory, and the power of electing superiors was transferred to the bishops. Their own constitutions were also abrogated. Then, on January 24, 1656, by the special grace of the holiness of Our Lord Alexander VII, who reigns at present and whom may God preserve for many years to come, the said Congregation was restored by a special Brief, to which the ancient Constitutions were returned and confirmed, as is evident from the Brief (We command that the ancient Constitutions be observed). The power to elect superiors was also returned to it in the following manner:

“We further grant to the clerics of the Congregation the power to elect the Provincial Superiors in each province of the said Congregation and the rectors of their houses.”

This power must obviously be understood as having been returned to the Congregation, i.e. its General, to whom alone the Constitutions grant the power to elect superiors for the entire Congregation.

On March 12, 1656, His Holiness had the pleasure of making the election for three years, as he had reserved it for himself in the Brief of Restitution as follows:

“We reserve for the present the possibility of appointing the Superior General of the Congregation and his Assistants at our pleasure”.

This election was announced in the name of His Holiness by His Emm. Ginetti, the Protector, to the Fathers assembled in the usual manner in the public Chapter in St. Pantaleo.

On April 24th of the same year, Father Joseph Fedele asked for a Brief, which was not published in the Chapter, in which he added the following details in addition to the confirmation of the General and the Assistants:

“We resolve and declare that the four named Assistants, together with Fr. García himself, have the deciding vote when it comes to the governance and administration of the Congregation”.

And because it does not seem that O.L. wanted to revoke the Constitutions he had recently confirmed, he issued the mandate for three years and added the following clause at the end:

“To give effect to the foregoing, we hereby expressly repeal them for this period only, and they shall remain in force until the end of their term of office”.

At the end of the three-year period, with the express permission of His Holiness, the General Chapter was held in Rome, at which, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitutions, being President His Emm. Ginetti, the Protector, Father Camillo Scassellati of Urbino, who was Rector of Collegio Nazareno, was canonically elected General. And the election was for life, for this is laid down in the Constitutions of the Congregation (Part Three, chapter 2):

“Since experience and practice in governing, as well as knowledge of persons and authority over them, contribute greatly to the good exercise of this ministry, the election (of the General) is for life and not for a temporary period”.

According to the Constitutions, Father General elected in the manner indicated, together with the Capitular Fathers, elected the four Assistants and the General Procurator, with the consent and in the presence of the aforementioned Cardinal Ginetti, the Protector, and relying exclusively on the advice of the Assistants. And then he alone made the election of the other officials, issuing the patents approved by the General Chapter; and all the Provinces accepted the ministers elected by Father General without any difficulty or complaint, because the Constitutions of the Congregation so provide, and because they know that these have been confirmed by the Holiness of Our Lord, Pope Alexander VII.

Now, after six months, when all Congregation lives peacefully and in tranquility, Fr. Joseph Fedele of Sezze, second Assistant, and Fr. Peter of Brescia, third Assistant, secretly present to Our Lord, against the will of the Congregation and without the participation of the other confreres, a memorandum asking for a decisive vote not granted to them by the Constitutions, as His Holiness has said, citing the example of the Brief issued for the last General, of good memory, for three years, and during which time the government had many difficulties. At that time, no commendable decision could be made because each of the Assistants, by virtue of the decisive vote he possessed, pretended to have the same authority as the General and to be the head of the Congregation. And it shall also be declared how long the General, whom they themselves elected for life by their vows of May 1659, shall last, as prescribed by the Constitutions, confirmed as aforesaid.

Your Eminence is therefore requested to recommend Monsignors Fagnani and Ugolini, to whom the memorandum has been sent, that, since they are to communicate to His Holiness what they think of this matter, they may be so good as to protect and maintain the observance of the Constitutions, so that in this way the door may be closed to all ambitions and the Congregation may remain united under one head, which would not happen if the Assistants had the decisive vote, since the Constitutions grant them only the consultative vote, as will be seen in Chap. 3. 3 of Part Three:

“They should assist with their opinion in the discernment of doubtful matters. The General will take their opinion into account as far as possible”.

This also will preserve his right to a General of merit for his goodness and teaching and for the sweat shed for the maintenance of the Institute, as is known to many Emms. of this Court, to the Auditors of the Sacred Rota, who for many years have made use of the work of the said Father in Collegio Nazareno, and finally to the whole Congregation, which for this reason elected him Superior, since he is the first to be elected in a General Chapter, as the Constitutions prescribe. It seems, therefore, that this right should not be taken away from him, lest his office be exercised for life by the assertion of only two assistants, who are perhaps moved by a hidden but not very praiseworthy passion or by their own interest, since the said General has committed no fault that would disqualify him. Moreover, it seems neither opportune nor necessary to repeal the Constitutions which were, so to speak, signed two days ago by the Holiness of O.L. Alexander VII. with the opinion of the Emms. Ginetti, Albizzi, Corrado and Farnese, and of Bishop Gualteri, Secretary of Briefs, of happy memory; especially considering that the Congregation wishes that the choice it has made on the basis of the Constitutions given to it by the same Pope, to which only the two above-mentioned Assistants object, should be maintained.

If, however, the requests of the two aforementioned Assistants are granted and they are given the decisive vote, it is considered that, for the avoidance of doubt and in order not to disturb the public tranquility of the Congregation, the Assistants and the Procurator General could be given the limited decisive vote in the most serious cases, such as the following:

When it is necessary to plan new foundations of houses;

when it is necessary to vacate a house for just cause; in criminal cases and sentences;

in the expulsion of incorrigibles, according to the bull of Clement VIII;

in the promulgation of general precepts under threat of excommunication.

In all other matters, the Constitutions of the Congregation, confirmed by His Holiness with the opinion of the above-mentioned Eminences, shall remain in force and be observed; and the said Assistants shall continue to act as advisors to Father General.

Concerning the election of Provincials, if it does not seem right to leave the election to the General, a laudable procedure could be followed, left by the Venerable Founder in his own handwriting, which prescribes to the Provinces that in their Provincial Chapters, to be held every three years, they should nominate three subjects, one of whom Father General will appoint as Provincial. This would be very practical because the subjects in their Provinces would have the opportunity to behave well and virtuously. But the election of local superiors should remain in the hands of the General alone, as he is entitled to do, so that the dignity of the generalate is recognized and appreciated and his authority does not diminish in the eyes of the subjects. For if these elections were taken away from him, since the Constitutions give the General no other way of rewarding fatigue, the goodness of the virtuous religious would naturally be undervalued and not recognized as greater than that of the others of his congregation. All this is to be accomplished by your Excellency’s justice and grace, whom God, etc.”

49 The text of this decree is found in the Arch. Secr. Vat., Secret. of Briefs 1212, f. 574r and v.

50 See Secret. of Briefs 1212, f. 575v, where the following is written: “Day April 17, 1660. His Holiness assented to the issuance of the Brief according to the decree.”

51 Cf. Bullarium Scholarum Piarum. Madrid 1899, pp. 54-56. The draft of this Brief is in Secret. of Briefs 1212, f. 573r and v; a printed copy of it, edited 1660, is in Reg. Cal. 69, phase. 6, 11. 4, with this handwritten annotation: “Brief of the reduction of the General to six years, with other dispositions; requested or procured by Father Joseph of the Visitation, by Father Peter of the Annunciation and by Father Angel of St. Dominic, of the territory of Luca, because of the animosity they felt against Father Camillo of St. Jerome, elected General for life by the General Chapter, in which those named had given their sworn votes for said election”.

52 Cf. Report of the Visitation to the church of St. Pantaleo and to the house of the Fathers of the Pious Schools (Arch. Secret. Vat., Arm. VII, 70), to be published below. See also the denunciation against Fr. Scassellati and his henchmen made to Prospero Fagnani after the Brief, but before the Apostolic Visitation (Arch. Secret. Vat., Arm. VII, 65, ff . 7r- 8v), which will likewise be adduced later.

53 This indult, together with the petition of Fr. Scassellati, is found in the Arch. Secret. Vat. (Bishops and Regulars; Regular Discipline 1660, f. 634) and reads as follows:

“Fr. Camillo Scassellati of St. Jerome, of Urbino, a religious of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, appointed at another time by Fr. Joseph of Mother of God, General and Founder, professor of Rhetoric of Collegio Nazareno , and appointed rector by the Lords Auditors of the Rota, protectors of the School, with the approval of His Holiness Innocent X, of happy memory, having borne for a long time one burden and another has contracted a certain indisposition of podagra and calculi, which from time to time affects him. Having been elected General of his congregation in the last General Chapter, celebrated by order of Your Holiness, he should reside in the house of St. Pantaleo. But since he has resided for many years in the house located in the open field on the slope of S. Onofrio, of which he is still rector with apostolic approval, the doctors believe that such a change may aggravate his illness. Therefore, Joseph of St. Eustace of Pesaro, Procurator General of the said Congregation, who wishes not to be deprived of such a person, humbly has recourse to the feet of Your Holiness and begs you to grant the said father to continue to enjoy the benefit of pure air. He, for his part, commits himself to attend the customary duties at St. Pantaleo’s house, to attend the congregations and to attend to business with the Assistants. All this, etc.

To whom God, etc.

Answer:

Our Most Holy Lord, taking into account what has been said, graciously grants the request of the orator, but only for six months.

Given in Rome, June 30, 1660.

Card. B. Spada. Pious Schools - For six months”.

54 See the memorandum submitted by the Fathers of St. Pantaleo to the prelates of the Sacred Apostolic Visitation (Arch. Secr. Vat. Misc. Arm. VII, 56, f. 524).

55 Here is the text of the Memorandum, whose placement is shown in the previous note:

1. The direction of Collegio Nazareno, which Cardinal Tonti, of happy memory, had entrusted to the Fathers of the Pious Schools, was always exercised by the venerable servant of God, Father Joseph of the Mother of God, the Founder and first general, under the patronage of the Auditors of the Roman Rota, until the Religion was reduced to a Congregation modeled on that of St. Philip Neri. Pope Innocent X thus placed the said school under the jurisdiction of the prelates of the Rota, just as he deposed all the superiors of the Religion, separated all the houses without connection to one another and placed them under the Ordinaries of the place. After, by the special grace of Our Lord Alexander VII, having been re-established again in the state of Congregation with three vows, after the confirmation of the Constitutions and the return of all the houses and provinces to the regime and jurisdiction of their superiors, viz. of the Superior General, the Assistants, Visitators, Provincials, General Procurators and Local Rectors, it is logical that the house of the said Collegio Nazareno should return under the rule of its General and General Assistants, who now and in the future will elect the rector, organize the community and teachers, and do other things within their jurisdiction. It would also obviously be very useful if the students of the said center would attend the Pious Schools by moving into a house near them with the balance of the expenses for teachers and boarding.

2. When Father General and the Assistants meet once a week to discuss matters concerning the management of the Institute, experience has shown that many things that are useful and necessary for the greater good and preparation of the Institute cannot be decided because the proposal may not please the General or one of the Assistants. For this reason, it is felt that it would be good for the Holy Visitation to issue a decree ordering that every time in the Congregations or the General or one of the Assistants proposes something as described above, it should be put to a vote if the majority agrees by secret ballot. And then, if the vote is approved, it shall be decreed with the signature of the General and the four Assistants, so that it may be executed.

3. That all decrees issued in the said congregations be signed by the General and the four Assistants, so that it may be evident for all time that the decree was issued with the vote and consent of the greater part.

4. The assistants, together with the General, have a decisive vote in the election of superiors and in penal cases and criminal sentences, as stated in the Instruction of Our Lord Alexander VII of April 28, 1660, in these words: Likewise in penal cases and criminal sentences. It does not appear, therefore, that the General can elect or send commissioners in such cases without the vote of the said Assistants.

5. Our Lord, in the Instruction of January 24, 1656, orders that no one shall be admitted to receive the habit of the Congregation of Pious Schools unless he has a certificate from his Ordinary as to his good morals and fitness for the said Institute. After six years, however, experience has shown that this is not only difficult, but almost impossible, both because the local Ordinaries do not know the persons and because of the costs, since the officials and Ordinaries want to be paid on time for the legalization of the documents and decrees declaring the suitability of the subjects. Added to this is the distance from the Cardinals’ residences, which in Germany and Poland is sometimes eight or ten days; and in Italy the roads are impassable in winter and very hot in summer. The result is that the Congregation loses many suitable elements. Therefore, the Holy Visitation is asked to relieve the religious of this burden and merely to oblige them to observe the general law and the other apostolic Bulls concerning the admission of novices into the Congregation.

6. In the Brief published on January 24, 1656, we are called Presbyters or Secular Clerics. The consequence is that many take advantage of this to live in the Congregation without the rigor of exact observance, pretending to be able to live in it as secular priests, although they are bound by the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and are subject to the observance of the Constitutions. Therefore, the Holy Visitation is humbly asked to title us in this way: Presbyter or Cleric of the Congregation of the Mother of God of Pious Schools, to counteract the abuses of those who pretend to be only secular priests.

7. The Assistants of the Congregation are elected by the General Chapter so that they can lead the Congregation together with the General during the entire six-year term of the Generalate. Together with the General, they elect each Superior with a decisive vote. Therefore, Father General cannot suspend their vote or remove an Assistant from office; to do so, he needs the vote of the other Assistants. And this also applies when he is absent in serious matters in accordance with the Constitutions of the Congregation; all the more so since the assistants themselves, together with the General, have the deciding vote in penal matters and criminal sentences. Therefore, if one of the Assistants fails in a serious matter, Father General cannot remove him from office without the vote of the others, nor can he hear the case to see if he is worthy of removal. Therefore, the Sacred Apostolic Visitation is requested to take precautions in this regard to remove the unrest that might result, since Father General often threatens to remove, suspend and expel any of the Assistants from the Congregation if they freely express their opinions in these meetings that are contrary to his, or propose useful things that are not in accord with his order, or reject some of his proposals as not useful or necessary. It could also be explained that the grave reasons for which, with the vote of Fr. General and the Assistants, criminal action could be taken against any of them, even to the point of removal from office, would be the same faults for which Fr. General himself could be removed from office if he were to commit them, viz. the crime of heresy, of incontinence of the flesh, the breakdown of the Religion allowed by him in any way; so that, if he commits a crime for which he is punishable by capital sentence according to the civil laws, or by deposition according to the sacred canons, it may be clearly known what are the grave offenses for which he may be deposed from office, and so that these words may not be so often heard: I will deprive you, I will cast you out, I will remove you from the Congregation.

8. The Congregation of Pious Schools, which is the youngest of all, should follow the example of the others, which usually divide the Provinces among the General Assistants. In the same way, the Provinces in our Congregation could be assigned to the Assistants, i.e. the provinces of Rome and Naples to the first assistant, the provinces of Tuscany and Genoa to the second assistant, the provinces of Sicily and Sardinia to the third assistant, the provinces of Germania and Poland to the fourth assistant. They are to support Father General in his management and report to the Congregation on the situation of the aforementioned provinces for the good of the Institute.

On the back: For the Fathers of the Pious Schools.

To the Sacred Congregation of the Visitation.

56 See the official report of this Apostolic Visitation made in the Congregation of the Apost. Vis. of December 22, 1661 (Arch. Secr. Vat., Series: Vis. Apost., Alejandro VII, vol. 1, ff. 283-290), which reads as follows: “Report of the visit made to the church of St. Pantaleon and to the house of the Fathers of the Pious Schools”.

The church of St. Pantaleo was parochial and dependent on the church of St. Eustace. The canons appointed a perpetual Vicar for the care of souls, to whom they gave sixty escudos, apart from the eventual income. Gregory XV with his Bull of February 23, 1622 entrusted the said church to the Fathers of the Pious Schools, removed the parish and entrusted the faithful to the care of the perpetual Vicar of S. Eustace with these words:

“The Chapter and the aforementioned canons have the obligation to provide him with a suitable assistant, examined and approved by the Vicar of the Urbe to exercise the care of souls; he can be removed at the will of the canons themselves. The assistant supports the perpetual Vicar of the church of St. Eustace in the exercise of the care of souls that is incumbent upon him, and especially in cases concerning the souls of the parishioners who live at that time within the limits where the church of St. Pantaleo is presently located”.

And for the new recognition the fathers each year, for the feast of St. Eustace, must give the Chapter and canons 20 pounds of Venetian wax and 12 escudos in coin.

The description of the church is given on a separate folio, n. l.

A note is also given of the relics preserved in a cupboard in the sacristy, n. 2.

The list of the obligations of the masses and anniversaries, n. 3.

In the church there is a chapel of Lords Muti dedicated to the Crucified, with the charge of three weekly masses; these are said by the Fathers with the twenty escudos a year, given to them by the lord duke. They explain the difficulty of collecting them; and that the said chapel is not provided with anything by the patrons. They beg that it be provided for and also that they make the two annual feasts.

There is another chapel with the title of the Annunciation, with the right of patronage, which Sebastián Contini has had since 1648, with an obligation of two masses a week, which have not been celebrated since 1657 or 1658. The beneficiary alleges the meager income and the usurpation of a house, which belongs to the said benefice, by one of the patrons. Everything is explained in two Memorandums of the beneficiary, which is presented in n. 4.

There is a chapel with the title of St. Catherine, property of Francisco Gasparri, with the charge of one mass a week, which is celebrated. The priests pretend that the benefited must provide the said chapel with the necessary things. On the contrary, the benefited alleges the Bull of Gregory XV of concession of the church, whose maintenance is endorsed to the Fathers; also the meager of the benefice and the pension he pays.

There is a chapel of Santa Ana, where a confraternity of women was erected by Urban VIII in 1640; The Vicegerent is fully informed of this.

The obligations they have for perpetual Masses are seen to be fulfilled. The same must be said of the manuals; but since the church of St. Pantaleo cannot celebrate them all, Father General orders some to be celebrated in other houses, particularly in Germania. He has shown letters from that provincial which prove that they have been celebrated. In the house of St. Pantaleo there are at present twenty-eight religious of the family, of whom sixteen are priests, two clerics and ten laymen, whom they call brothers.

In the personal visitation, in addition to what was stated in words and most of it given in writing, it is brought out that the Superior of the house is the second Assistant, which is not considered opportune, because the appeals of grievances are presented to the General and Assistants; and, so as not to displease him, it is not always provided for. Some also point out that he proceeds with partiality, although he is generally considered a good religious.

That those who cannot lead a common life cannot be superiors.

That the clothing be uniform as to the style and quality of the cloth.

That uniformity also be given as to whether all walk barefoot or all wear shoes.

Complaints are heard that the superiors are perpetual, since they remain in the same positions or in others without vacations.

And many ask to provide against Fr. Nicholas Mary of the Most Holy Rosary. Almost unanimously it is noted his little observance of the institute, the occupation in secular matters, particular food and wine in the refectory, frequent visits to a monastery of nuns, a nun sends him every Saturday afternoon the washed change in a closed basket. The superiors cannot remedy this, because he is protected by Fr. General, who makes much use of him. He is also procurator of the house and for this reason he is always going around the city. The aforesaid Father rejects all these accusations, which do not seem to him to be founded, and says that he is hated by many influential religious, especially because in the time of Innocent X he was united to Father Pietrasanta, who made use of his person. But although he was offered a good opportunity to leave the Religion, he did not want to accept it.

They also say that he cannot go to Naples or Genoa.

Against Fr. Antonio Joseph of St. Joachim, a young priest and professor of the fourth class of Grammar, some say that he has been defamed as to his purity by some gifts of little importance to a neighbor lady of bad reputation. A religious claims to have opened the door of the house one morning for him to enter, and that he asked him to be quiet. In order to grant him the dimissorial letters for holy orders, the General procured from the superior of Nursia the certificate that he had behaved well.

Of Fr. Santiago of St. Philip Neri there is some complaint and it is said that he is a comrade of Fr. Gavotti.

Many point out that Father General should reside continually in St. Pantaleon with the assistants and not in Collegio Nazareno.

That a bursar be appointed, as was the custom, who would take care of providing the necessary food for the house. In this particular there are complaints about the small amount and the seasoning.

That those who should have the key to the money box should not be appointed by the superior, but by the chapter of the house.

Regarding the Procurator General, named Joseph of St. Eustace, it is almost unanimously said that he is totally unfit for the office, of little observance, that he frequents monasteries of nuns, that he is always in Collegio Nazareno and also in houses of laymen.

Father General with his Assistants has determined to open a study in Rome for the religious. For this purpose, he has ordered that two students come from all the provinces and that the provinces contribute to their support. There is no lack of those who oppose this resolution for many reasons and believe that it would be better to have the study outside of Rome, especially because of the poverty and the narrowness of this house.

Some say that the custom of explaining cases of conscience should be reestablished.

That an infirmary be set up and a nurse appointed.

That there be a visitor for the beds of the healthy and the sick, so that they may be in conformity with the Constitutions.

That sometimes the religious walk alone in the city.

That the Provincial of the Roman Province be appointed.

That the Superior, when his term of office is over, render an account of his administration.

The living quarters of the Fathers are narrow. The classrooms are located partly on the first floor and partly above, on the second floor, where there is the oratory for the prayer of the fathers and for the congregations.

To go up to the dormitories one goes by a wooden staircase; it is in such a place that exposes them too much to the gaze of the neighbors.

As premises of a relative capacity there are no other than the oratory already mentioned and the refectory.

They currently have eight classes open: four for grammar, one for arithmetic, two for writing and one for reading. The total number of students this year was 656, as is specified in the note given with the number of teachers and students, No. 6.

They say they have four congregations: Assumption, Conception, St. Joseph and St. Savior.

In all the schools there is a daily exercise of Christian Doctrine; on Saturday there is a conference for the students with an explanation by the teacher. In this regard, somebody has told that on Saturdays the students do not receive spiritual conferences, as was the custom.

The students go to confession once a month and those who are able to do so receive communion.

Accompanying school children home after school seems to many to be a heavy and difficult burden to carry. However, the last Brief of the Holy Father expressly orders it, as well as walking barefoot.

That the admission of schoolchildren should depend on the prefect and not on the teacher. And that when they are expelled for being fractious, they sometimes receive protection from their superiors. A particular case is alleged, in which even the authority of the Governor intervened.

That Father General should visit the schools every fortnight, or have them visited by one of the Assistants.

The Assistants complain about Father General, because he does not comply with the pontifical Brief regarding the appointment of Visitators with their decisive vote. And for this reason, a certain tension has arisen. As for other matters, he should ask for a consultative vote.

That the aforementioned Brief of the Holy Father has not yet been formally published in all the houses, as it seems should be done.

That Father Vincent of the Conception, Provincial of Genoa, should be sent to Rome to attend the process of the Founder, since he is fully informed. He would also be very suitable for Procurator General or for Provincial of Rome. Some say that this father has been mortified because he had ordered the publication of the Brief of the Holy Father.

That the dimissorial letters for Holy Orders should be given with the decisive vote of the Assistants.

Father Joseph of St. Joachim pleads in a Memorandum that he be declared to have precedence over others who professed at the same time with respect to the General’s order.

In the rendering of accounts that they give, between bank titles, rental of premises for stores and alms, they obtain 1,253 escudos a year, no. 5. On the other hand, the expenses, with the interest on the perpetual shares, amount each year to the sum of 1,377.50 escudos.

The repayable debts amount to 281 escudos.

Fr. Ephisio of St. Joseph is detained in prison, to which he has been sentenced by the General and the Assistants to ten years, fasting on bread and water twice a week and discipline in the refectory, for some offenses and especially for having borrowed money from the laity when he was in Sardinia, his homeland. He begged, however, to be heard again and Father General delivered the process.

Monsignor John Andrew Castellani, in the donation he made of all his goods from Rome to the Holy House of Loreto on December 27, 1646, imposed on the latter the obligation to give to the Fathers of the Pious Schools 150 escudos a year, for a perpetual Mass, with other legacies for the construction of the house, as stated in the said donation.

In the will made later in favor of the same Santa Casa, he confirms the donation, but revokes the bequests made in favor of the fathers of the Pious Schools, as stated in the codicil.

For some years the Santa Casa has paid the legacy of 150 escudos a year and the Fathers have said Masses and still say them, although the Santa Casa refuses to pay after the said will has been made public.

They also have claims on the inheritance of the Prince of Gallicano, as heir of the Marquis. The cause is pending before Mons. Bulgarino, who, the Fathers say, interposes because of the agreement with the prince’s heir.

Description of the church of St. Pantaleo at the time of the Visiationt.

The church has almost triangular form, narrowing respectively towards the entrance of the main door, and widening in the previous part, that is divided, being on the left hand the door that leaves to the square towards the Pasquino, and to the right, the tribune in the form of chapel, with all whitewashed vault.

It is ascended to it by a stairway, above which is the wooden gate.

In front, leaning against the wall, is the main altar, raised on two stone steps in addition to the dais. The picture is a painting representing the martyrdom of St. Pantaleo, adorned all around with a golden frame. Above the altar is the tabernacle, where the Blessed Sacrament is preserved in a worthy ciborium; the little key is gilded. To one side of the altar, towards the epistle, at ground level, is the sacristy with a small wooden door.

Towards the gospel, at a proportionate height, there is a small window in the wall with an iron door, where the little box containing the three Holy Oils is kept. On both sides of the church there are six chapels, four on the gospel side and two on the epistle side. The first of the four has the title of the Most Holy Manger, with the adoration of the Magi in various statues.

The second, by the same hand, is of the Virgin Mary. There is an obligation to celebrate two masses a week in it, which are not celebrated because the alms are no longer paid as was the custom. The third is of St. Anne. The altar stone which occupies a good part of the surface, is said to have been consecrated by Pope Pius V, of saintly memory. To one side there is a pile of bricks on the floor. Above the arch of the chapel there is a small window with a trellis, which corresponds to a corridor of the Fathers.

The fourth is of St. Catherine. There is an obligation of one mass a week, which is celebrated.

On the epistle side, the first chapel has the title of the Crucifix. There is an obligation to say three Masses a week in it for the Muti family, who have two tombs on both sides of the platform, with their ancient arms and inscription. The second and last chapel is of Saints Just and Pastor, martyred brothers.

Here the altar should be taken out further forward, towards the celebrant.

All the chapels mentioned have railings in front and are a little elevated above the church plan.

Both in the church plan and in the chapels, there are many tombs and tombstones with ancient inscriptions.

At the end, a little separated from the door, a tomb has been erected on the floor, turned towards the length of the church, with the portrait above and below the following inscription:

Tomb of Glicerio of Christ, formerly Landriani, Milanese patrician, abbot of St. Anthony of Plasencia, of the Clerics Regular Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, who died on February 15, 1618, at the age of thirty.

At the end of the church, above the door, there is the choir with trellis. Along the church there are four confessionals, two on each side, with grilles and doors.

There is no baldachin on any of the altars.

In the sacristy the relics are kept in a decent place; and of these, as well as of the vestments, chalices, missals and utensils for the use of the church, the Fathers undertake to make an inventory.

On the first floor of the house there are four schools and four others above; next to them is the oratory.

In the rooms of the Fathers one sees cleanliness and observance of religious poverty.

57 These responses are found in Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc. Arm. VII, 65, ff. 10r-11r) and are as follows:

“Answers to certain objections raised against the Congregation of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools”.

To the objection about the vestments not conforming to the Constitutions.

Answer: If it refers to the making and the quality of the cloth, that is false. If it is a matter of some accidental detail, it is unimportant. If some wear socks, which are few, they do so by concession of the Constitutions with the permission of the superior and the doctors.

To the objection about the infirmary and the nurse:

Answer: Neither of the two things has any foundation. The infirmary exists, as far as the premises permit; and there is an experienced and charitable infirmarian appointed, who has an assistant when the sick need him, who lacks nothing in the way of medicine or food, as everyone knows.

To the objection that the teachers admit children to the schools without the consent of the Prefect.

Answer: It is not known if this has happened; but if it has ever happened, one swallow does not make a summer, as the saying goes.

To the objection about the instruction to the children in the oratory on Saturdays:

Answer: It is given by each teacher in his school. In Rome there is no custom of having it in the oratory.

To the objection about the lesson on cases of conscience.

Answer: It has been held twice a week, as the readers themselves can testify. If it was left out for a few days, it was either because of illness or because of the summer heat.

To the objection about the Bursar:

Answer: Among us the Bursar and the Procurator are one and the same, who has never been missed. It falls to the Rector to buy together with him what is necessary for living. To the said rector, since he was one of the assistants, it was granted, since the distribution of the keys belongs to the General by the Bull of Clement VIII, that he distribute them at his discretion, because otherwise he would be offended.

To the objection about Fr. Antony Joseph.

Answer: The General has no news of that, nor has any complaint of guilt been presented to him, which the Sacred Visitation seems to assume. In any case, the Father has already left Rome.

To the objection about the deciding vote, which the General would not grant to his Assistants according to the Brief.

Answer: It cannot be proved in any way, as not a single instance can be adduced to that effect. And if the General Procurator was commissioned to review the situation of some houses, this did not give him any authority; and where he performed this service, he did not exercise any act of authority; except that the General gave notice beforehand to two Assistants that he was going to proceed in this way, and they refused.

To the objection about the house of study.

Question: The house of study was not put up with luxury, but only to meet a necessity; there are only eight juniors in it. The narrowness of the house is not inconvenient, since there are twelve empty rooms, which perhaps Your Eminence did not visit, in another dormitory. God, who is rich in everything, will never fail to help them.

To the objection about the residence of Father General

Reply: If the General’s obligation of residence is not stricter than that of the bishops, it is observed down to the last detail, since he lives in St. Pantaleo and carries out all his duties there. If he ever moves to other houses, he does so for a reasonable reason.

To the objection about the severe punishment of Fr. Efisio, a native of Sardinia.

Answer: We must consider the sentence and the process, which is in the hands of His Eminence Cardinal Franciotti, where the grave contumacy is recorded.

To the objection that the Assistants do not ask for the General’s blessing when he is present.

Answer: It is necessary to see if this is reasonable, taking into account the example of religion and humility given by the predecessors. Finally, by the grace of God, there are no disturbances in the whole congregation, neither here in Rome, except for some clandestine and false supposition.

We beg, therefore, with all humility to YY EE. do not allow the devil, who lies in wait for those who work well so that they may perish, to triumph with his deceit, to the detriment of piety and religious charity, but to protect and promote the work of God with their clement protection.

To whom God, etc.”.

On the back (f. 1 Ir): Before His Eminence Franciotti, Visitator

58 See the decrees of the Apostolic Visitation, which are found in the same volume entitled Apostolic Visitation, Alexander VII, 1, and read as follows:

“Since the chapel of the Most Holy Christ Crucified, of the Lords of Muti, in the aforementioned church of St. Pantaleo, to which is attached the charge of celebrating three Masses each week, lacks sacred vestments and the alms of twenty escudos which is given to the priests who celebrate the said Masses is collected with difficulty, let the Duke of Muti be heard on the matter and then it will be provided for in a timely manner.

The Vicegerent should learn of the controversy regarding the coadjutor between the Vicar of St. Eustace and the church of St. Pantaleo, and report on it in the next congregation. Also, let him know the reasons for the case between the rector of the chapel of the Annunciation, of the same church, and its patrons, and report likewise so that it may be seen if it should be taken over.

Let the chaplain Castaldo and the Fathers of the Church be brought into agreement.

The superior of the said house of St. Pantaleo is not to be elected from now on whoever is at that time Assistant.

The habit of the religious must be, as regards material and fit, entirely in conformity with what is prescribed in the pontifical Brief. The General must comply exactly with the aforesaid Brief as regards residence in the church and in the house of St. Pantaleon, in which the General Procurator must also reside.

Regarding the distribution of the keys of the common deposit, the decree of Clement VIII, of happy memory, should be strictly observed.

It does not please the Sacred Visitation that in the aforementioned house of St. Pantaleon a study for the clerics of the Pious Schools should be placed.

Since the three houses of the Pious Schools in Rome are immediately subject to the General, the Provincial of the Roman Province should not exercise any jurisdiction over them.

Given in Rome on May 4, 1662”.

59 His patent as Postulator is found in the Register of Patents, etc. (ff. 220r) and reads as follows:

“Mandate regarding the juridical process of the Servants of God Joseph Calasanz and Glicerio Landriani.

In the name of the Lord. Amen. On August 26, 1659.

Since the Capitular Fathers desired by common consent that there should be no lack of a Procurator to carry forward the process of the life of the Venerable Servant of God, our Father Founder Joseph Calasanz, and of Father Abbot Glicerio Landriani, We, wishing to give satisfaction to this pious desire and petition, assign and name for this office you, Fr. Joseph Eustaquio, our General Procurator, so that whatever may seem necessary and opportune in these cases may be diligently carried out by you.

Given in Rome, in our house of the Pious Schools of St. Pantaleo, on the day and year indicated.

Camillo of St. Jerome, General.

Glycerio of the Nativity of the Lord, Assistant General. Joseph of the Visitation, Assistant General.

Peter of the Annunciation, Assistant General.

Peter Luke of St. Michael, Assistant General and Secretary.”

60 See the official report of the Visitation, in note 56.

61 See the “obedience” for Rome, dated January 14, 1662, in the Register of Patents, etc., f. 249v.

62 See the Minutes of the General Congregation (Reg. Gen., 9), f. J 2 r, where we read the following:

“On February 10, 1662, in our General Congregation, after having invoked the Holy Spirit, we proceeded to the election of Provincials. Vincent de la Conception, who was Provincial of Liguria, was elected Provincial of the Roman Province; the five votes, that is, those of Father General and the Assistants, were all favorable to him. Given in Rome in the year and on the day indicated above. It was decreed at the same time that the Roman Provincial should not have any jurisdiction in our houses in Rome, both in those already erected and in those that could be opened in the future”.

The patent is dated February 18, 1662 (Register of Patents, f. 4v).

63 It must be recognized, however, that the first step in this matter had already been taken by Fr. Scassellati long before the intervention of the Apostolic Visitation, concretely in the month of May 1661. See, for example, the Minutes of the General Congregation of May 27, 1661 (Reg. Gen. 9).

7) “It was decided that Father Vincent, Provincial of Liguria, should come to Rome to continue the cause and process of our Venerable Founder.”

64 See the above-mentioned report of the Apostolic Visitation, in note 56.

65 The libel of supplication is found in the Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc. Arm. VII, 65, ff . 29r and 32v) and reads as follows:

“Your Most Ill. and Excellent Lady:

Nicholas Mary of the Most Holy Rosary, surnamed Gavotti, of the Pious Schools, most humble servant of Your Excellency, informs you that the Holy Apostolic Visitation of St. Pantaleo has been carried out by His Eminence Franciotti and Monsignor Vicegerent. And since there are some Fathers who do not see him with good eyes, they have done him a disservice for some purpose that they will know. He therefore appeals to Your Excellency’s protection, humbly begging you to deign to send an official letter to Bishop Fagnano, Secretary of the Visitation, so that if there is anything against the orator, Father General may be heard and informed about his person; and if his innocence is not proven, he is ready to accept any punishment for his fault.

All this he will receive as a grace.

To whom God, etc.

On the back: To the Illustrious and Excellency Mrs. Berenice Chigi.

With Bishop Fagnano, Secretary of the Apostolic Visitation,

For Nicholas Mary of the Most Holy Rosary of the Pious Schools”.

On this same subject see the other supplication, addressed by the same Fr. Gavotti at the beginning of the year 1664 to Alexander VII, to obtain the return to Rome (Arch. Secr. Vat., Misc. VIII, 95, no page):

“Father Nicholas Mary Gavotti of the Pious Schools, Your Holiness’ most humble orator, states that three years ago he was sent by Bishop Fagnano to Savona, his homeland, at the instigation of some malicious people under the pretext that he was protecting a cause in the Rota in favor of the Pontremolis of Malta against a certain Aldana. And since this cause is already finished, the orator appeals to the feet of Your Holiness, in order that with a rescript you deign to order his return to Rome, where is Aurelia Gavotti Siri, his widowed sister, burdened with a large family, useless for work, to whom he can offer with his presence some support in view of their great need. All this they will receive as a most singular grace from Your Holiness, for which they will always feel obliged to pray to God Our Lord for their preservation.

To whom God, etc.

On the back: To the Holiness of Our Lord

By Father Nicolás María Gavotti

Second hand: Mons. Fagnano. January 30, 1644.

The Holy Father did not agree”.

65bis See Fr. L. Picanyol, In antiquos, de S. Iosepho Calasanctio Scriptores commentaria, “Eph. Cal” 2 (1934) 248-253.

66 See the report of the Apostolic Visitation in note 56, as well as the response of Fr. Scassellati in note 57.

67 See the following letter of Fr. Scassellati, addressed on January 17, 1662 to Fr. Efisio (Register of Patents, etc. f. 223r):

“Camillus of St. Jerome, Superior General of the Poor Clerics of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools.

To you, Father Elisio of St. Joseph, professed priest of our Congregation, health in the Lord who is true health.

The Apostle, doctor of the nations, exhorts us to clothe ourselves with the heart of mercy and to imitate God, Father of mercies. Therefore, acceding to your most humble supplications and with the approval of the Sacred Apostolic Visitation, we judge it opportune to commute, remit and mitigate the punishments that were inflicted on you for your faults. Therefore, with the advice and consent of our Assistants, we judge that it should be commuted, remitted and mitigated in the manner indicated: That is, instead of ten years’ imprisonment, a six-year term of residence in our house in Nursia, unless in the meantime it should seem opportune to us or to our successors to proceed otherwise; you may celebrate mass and perform other domestic and school offices, although you are deprived of active and passive voice for six years; you dare not write letters either, except to your superiors; the penalty of fasting and flagellation is removed from you. But you will relapse into all penalties, if you dare to violate the relegation.

We warn and exhort you in the Lord to mourn for past offenses and to foresee future ones, so that, converted to a better life with the help of the merciful God, you may give to all an example of good works and with holy habits and virtues attain the reward of eternal bliss.

Given in Rome at the house of the Pious Schools of St. Pantaleo on January 17, 1662.

Camillo of St. Jerome, Superior General.

Peter Luke of St. Michael, Assistant and Secretary”.

68 Cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 468r, as well as the account of the Apostolic Visitation in note 56.

69 See note 62.

70 See note 58.

71 See the account of the Apostolic Visitation in note 56.

72 See this Memorandum to D. Prospero Fagnano, Secretary of the Sacred Apostolic Visitation (Arch. Secr. Vat., Misc. VII, 65, ff. 7-8):

“Most Ill. Lord:

In order that the Institute of the Fathers of the Pious Schools may be maintained in the primitive purity in which it was established by the V. Servant of God Joseph of the Mother of God, and in conformity with the desire experienced by the whole body of the Congregation - which is growing more and more each day - to give in the Holy Church the fruit for which it was founded, it seems advisable, in order to remove all obstacles and differences which might arise in the future, to put into practice the following proposal:

Fr. Camillo of St. Jerome, General, under the pretext of the illness of podagra, has not been content to dress himself under and over with a fine cloth different from that worn by the institute and contrary to what is prescribed by the Constitutions of the said Congregation, also wearing socks and suede shoes of a secular priest (something alien to the Institute, to which he was always and from the beginning been against it, since he did not want to publish the Brief of His Holiness Alexander VII), but has even required all the Fathers who are in Collegio Nazareno to wear socks, and, if he could, he would do the same in St. Pantaleo, in the Novitiate and in all the houses, if he were not opposed by the whole congregation, which does not want his will, already in the public domain, to be carried out. Finally, it is seen that the said Father General is always looking for a way to change the state of the said Congregation with the help of his supporters - who are: Francis Mary, layman, his companion; Fr. Nicholas Mary of the Most Holy Rosary, called Gavotti; Fr. Joseph of St. Eustace, General Procurator - to the grave harm of the whole congregation. It is therefore necessary - in order that the institute of the said congregation may be stabilized and that no more scandals may arise in the city of Rome and in the towns of Germania and Poland in particular, where the heretics themselves send their children to the schools of the said Fathers - that the Sacred Visitation, once the case has been exposed to His Holiness, may order Father Camillo and his three followers to pass to a more lax Religion or congregation, or else take the habit from them and send them out of the Congregation. There are numerous examples of these two cases. In particular, we have what happened in the Congregation with regard to the first, concerning Fr. Benedict of the Archangels, brother of Canon Flavio Cherubini, who could not live in observance within the congregation because of illness, as he said, and obtained from Urban VIII, of happy memory, to pass to the Religion of the Hermits of St. Augustine, where he died as prior of Genzano. The Father Founder condescended in this so that no change would be introduced in the congregation as far as observance was concerned. To illustrate the second case, we have the example of the laymen of the Discalced Carmelite Fathers. They revolted and tried to become priests, to the great harm and disturbance of their religion. By order of the Supreme Pontiff, Cardinal Pallotta (senior) ,of happy memory, heard them all one by one. And, stripped of the habit, those who wanted to become priests were expelled from the Religion, and thus the disorders that could arise in that Religion were remedied. Otherwise, it will never be remedied to the point of uprooting these weeds, born from the freedom enjoyed in Collegio Nazareno and because of the aforementioned Fr. Nicholas Mary in St. Pantaleo at the time of the labors suffered by the Congregation. For it can be seen that Father General not only did not want, together with his three other supporters, to observe the Brief of His Holiness, but he punished the one who had it published so that it would be observed. And so, he will do from now on. It is now public knowledge that he wants everyone to be shod and not go to accompany the school children, to the serious harm of the congregation, which exercises a ministry so holy and necessary in the Church of God, particularly in Rome, where fathers and mothers do not send their little children to the parishes to learn the things of the faith necessary for the Christian to be saved. Hence it comes about that as these children grow in age, they become engrossed in the vices and affairs of the world, of which they know how to give a detailed account; but, when they are questioned afterwards about the things of the Christian faith, they do not know how to say a word about it, which is not the case where this holy Institute exists. For fathers and mothers, in order that their children may learn, send them to the Pious Schools, where they are taught not only to read, write, count, and, for those who are able to continue their studies, grammar, but also the things pertaining to the holy faith; so much so that any little one, who can hardly speak and attends these schools, knows how to give a detailed account of the things of our faith. And if the enemies of Christianity, trained by the devil, press so hard for their sons and daughters from their tender years to learn their false dogmas, that for this purpose they procure masters and mistresses to teach them, why should Christianity not be pressed, so that because of three of these Fathers, this holy Institute, which teaches the poor and the little children the said things and the dogmas of the holy faith, is not destroyed but strengthened?

73 Such is the case of Fr. Joseph Fedele, who always had aspirations to the generalate.

74 Cf. note 55.

75 Cf. note 55.

76 The text of this Memorandum is found in the Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc. Arm. VIII, 95 no. p.) and reads as follows:

“Most Blessed Father: The Congregation of the Clerics Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools finds itself short of subjects to supply the maintenance of the houses they have opened in many kingdoms subject to the crown of Spain, as well as in Germania and Poland and in all the provinces of Italy. In the first place, because of the long time that it pleased His Holiness Innocent X of happy memory to keep the said Congregation dissolved, which resulted in the departure of many of them. Then, because of the recent plague, which in some parts left almost none of them alive, who could hardly be witnesses of the rigorous plague. This was due to the fact that the Fathers were employed in the service of the people and the plague-stricken poor, both in the administration of the sacraments and in other works of mercy. So, Fr. Joseph of St. Eustace, of Pesaro, General Procurator of the said Congregation, humbly prostrates himself at the feet of Your Holiness, begging you to deign to be pleased to dispense for some time one year of novitiate out of the two that the novices of the congregation do, at the discretion of their General; provided that in each case they have already completed the eighteen years of age which Your Holiness in the Brief of restoration establishes for those who are to be received to live in common in the said Congregation. And, furthermore, that in the schools may be employed those ordained subjects who are priests, notwithstanding the age of twenty-eight years which was determined for them in the said Brief, in order that with such a dispensation the General may maintain the Institute, and give satisfaction to those cities in which it is already introduced. This is all... To whom God, etc.

On the back:

The Holy Father, having ascertained the truth of what is referred to, graciously acceded to the request of the orator, but only for a three-year period. Given at Rome, June 30, 1660.

Card. B. Spada”.

77 Cf. Arch. Secr. Vat., Bishops and Regulars, Disciplina Reg., a. 1663, f. 447

78 Cf. L. Picanyol, Le Scuole Pie e Galileo Galilei, pp. 105, 177-178. Regarding the rectorate of Fr. Morelli, see his patent of May 24, 1660 in Register of Patents, etc., f. 16r.

79 Cf. L. Picanyol, Le Scuole Pie e Galileo Galilei, p. 184; Idem, Alfonso Borelli e il P. Carolo Giovanni Pirroni delle Scuole Pie, Roma 1933, Parva Bibl. Cal. 4.

80 Cf. Minutes of the General Congregation (Reg. Gen. 9), September 9, 1661 (f. 7r): Let it be written to Father Angel, rector of Chieti, that it is better for the time being to maintain there the study of our twelve students. And on September 30, 1661 (f. Sr.): Let it be ordered to Father Angel, rector of Chieti, to keep the twelve students there, since Father John Charles assures us that they can be fed.

81 Cf. Minutes of the General Congregation (Reg. Gen. 9, f. 2v). June 10, 1661: All determined by voice that a general study be established in Rome and that two subjects be called from each province, ordering the provinces to contribute to their maintenance with alms from Masses or in some other way.

Ibidem (f. 3v):

That the provincials themselves, rectors and their consultors choose and order, with authentic certification of their life and customs, the two subjects to be admitted to this study in Rome.

See also the following letter of June 25, 1661, addressed by Fr. Scassellati to the Provincials (Register of Patents, etc., f. 91v):

“To the Provincials.

Pax Christi:

The month of October is approaching, in which the triennium of the previous Provincial Chapters will be completed. And since Y. R. does not present us with anything in this regard, let us see if there is anything doubtful or difficult in your province for which it would be necessary to convoke a Chapter. We, according to the Constitutions, will give permission for it.

After due consultation, in order to close the way to pilgrim theories and to give a solid and uniform doctrinal formation, for the benefit of the whole Congregation, we have determined to establish here in Rome a General Study, to which each Province should send two chosen subjects, initiated in the humanities and approved for their wit and good manners, with the certification of the Provincial, of his two consultors and also of the rector of the community where the young men reside as members of their families. For their upkeep, the province itself must apply two daily Masses or else give the equivalent of the said alms. Therefore, Y. R., in order to carry out this determination of ours, will make the indicated choice of the young men in the prescribed manner, and when the weather is fresher, you will send them to Rome. Please see to it that they are sufficiently capable and can be useful to that Province in a short time. We for our part assure you of our diligence and vigilance in their training. Keep this letter in your archives. That is all I have to say to you.

May God our Lord assist you with his holy grace and blessing.

Rome, June 25, 1661.

From Y. R.

Your Servant in the Lord,

Camillo of St. Jerome, General”.

82 See the letter mentioned in note 81; also the Minutes of the General Congregation, July 1, 1661:

It was determined that two daily Masses be assigned to each Province, the alms of which would be used to support the two students. Fr. Dominic of St Francis, from Cáller, was elected Master and Lector.

83 Cf. Minutes of the General Congregation (Reg. Gen. 9, f. 5r), August 5, 1661:

It was decreed by common accord that Father Assistant Peter Luke be Prefect of the Study to be placed in this our house of St. Pantaleo in the present year 1661.

84 The patent is found in the Register of Patents, etc., f. 8 r, and reads as follows:

“Camillo of St. Jerome, Superior General of the Congregation of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools.

To you, R. Fr. Luke of St. Michael the Archangel, our Assistant, health in the Lord, who is true health. With the advice of the Assistants we have called to Rome from the provinces some of our young professed clerics for study purposes, so that without impediment they may exercise themselves and attain the desired end. For this reason and following the same advice, we have thought of entrusting them to the care of your prudence and charity. And in order that you may easily govern and guide them in regular discipline and study, in virtue of holy obedience we appoint and elect you Prefect of Studies; and in virtue also of obedience we command our student clerics to obey you in all things as they obey us. Therefore, let no one dare to take them as assistants or employ them in other occupations and tasks without your assent and license. We also order that they only join with the others in prayer for acts of piety and in the refectory for meals. In witness whereof we sign this written and countersigned with the seal of our office.

Rome, December 7, 1661.

Camillo, ut supra”.

85 Cf. G. Santha, San José de Calasanz, pp. 243-245.

86 See note 82; cf. B. Bartlik, ff. 478 -479.

87 Cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., ff. 478-479.

88 Cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., ff. 478-479. This Father was later elected, for his great merits, first rector of St. Pantaleo and, in 1665, Provincial of Sardinia. But he let himself be carried away by vanity and was forced to leave the Order around 1670. Cf. the History of the Sardinian Province, written by Fr. Charles Quatrin of St. Vincent, in Reg. Prov. 29, phase. 1, ff. 30-31, 35-36.

89 Cf. B. Bartlik, 1.c.

90 Cf. the Answers to certain objections, in note 57.

91 Cf. the Report of the Sacred Apostolic Visitation, in note 56; and the Answers to certain objections, in note 57.

92 See, for example, what is said of the Provincial of Liguria in the General Congregation of September 9, 1661 (Minutes of the General Congregation, f. 7r.):

Write to the Provincial of Genoa that concerning the two young men who should be sent here to the Studium, we will refer to what has been determined by the Province; but afterwards, do not complain if you do not have subjects suitable for the Institute.

93 Cf. note 58.

94 Cf. L. Picanyol, Le Scuole Pie e Galileo Galilei, pp. 184-186. See, however, the decrees of the General Chapter celebrated in 1665 on the continuation of studies and the study of Poli. Some resolution was also adopted by the General Chapter of 1671.

95 Cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 490v.

96 Cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 499r.

97 Cf. History of the Sardinian Province, by Fr. Charles Quatrin, ff. 21-26; B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 479r.

98 Cf. Bartlik, o. c., ff. 483, 486.

99 Cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 487.

100 Cf. Register of Patents, etc., f. 282r.

101 Cf. the Minutes of the General Chapter of the year 1659, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” I (1936) 15.

102 Cf. L. Picanyol, Brevis conspectus, 151.

103 Cf. P. C. Quatrin, o. c., ff. 6-8.

104 Cf. P. C. Quatrin, o. c., ff. 14-15

105 Cf. Minutes of the General Chapter of 1659, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” I (1936), 15.

106 Cf. P. C. Quatrin, o. c., ff. 25-26.

107 Cf. the Register of Patents (f. 246v and f. 90v), where we find the following letter from P. C. Scassellati to the Fathers of Cáller, dated October 2, 1660:

“P. C.

We send to that kingdom for the comfort and solace of YY. RR. Fr. Peter Luke of St Michael, our Assistant, to whom we have assigned as companion Fr. Charles Mary of St Benedict, a professed priest, so that in our name he may visit and examine the situation of those houses of ours. To his prudence and charity we have also added all our faculties; and in order that he may more easily and with double authority be able to assist you and remedy your needs, our Protector, His Eminence Ginetti, has seen fit to accompany him with his letter, so as to better support the sentiments of our other Assistants. Therefore, pay him reverence as Assistant, who will take our place there, and also obey him as General Visitator, since this is also the opinion of the said Most Eminent Protector. I hope to receive, through the kindness of Your Reverences, the best reports, in order to be always better disposed to satisfy you.

May God always assist you with his holy grace and blessing.

Rome, October 2, 1660

Aff. in the Lord

Camillo of St. Jerome, General

108 L. Cavada, Crónica de esta nuestra Provincia de Sardeña, first part, f. 50.

109 Cf. L. Cavada, o. c., f. 51; P. C. Quatrin, o. c., f. 26.

110 Minutes of the General Congregation (Reg. Gen. 9, f. 2r): On June 2, 1661, the congregation was held.

First: Father Peter of St. Peregrin, rector of the school of Cáller, who had remained as Vicar Provincial for the foundation made in the land of Isili, was proposed as Provincial in the kingdom of Sardinia. He had four favorable votes, lacking that of Father Joseph, Assistant, who was absent in Naples.

111 L. Cavada, o. c., f. 51; P. C. Quatrin, o. c., f. 17.

112 Cf. L. Picanyol, Brevis conspectus, pp. 264-265; also, the manuscript works of Frs. Cavada and Quatrin, passim.

113 L. Cavada, o. c., ff. 78-105; C. Quatrin, ff. 34-41.

114 See the patents of the two provincials, i.e., Fr. Dominic Franchi and Fr. Charles Pessau, signed January 18, 1662, in the Register of Patents, f. 5v; cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 480.

115 It was Father Michael Geiselbrunner of St. Mary, future Assistant General; cf. Register of Patents, f. 6v.

116 As for the Provincial Chapter of 1661, see note 81; as for the Chapter of 1664, see the following letter of Father Scassellati on May 10, 1664, addressed to the Provincials (Reg. of Patents, f. 98r):

“P. C.

Last three years I wrote that if a Provincial Chapter was needed in that Province, we would give permission for it according to the Constitutions. At the end of the second three-year period, it is necessary that this Chapter be convoked, if for no other reason, at least to elect, according to the Constitutions, the two delegates who, with the Provincial, can legitimately be sent to the General Chapter. The intimation of this Chapter will be sent, God willing, later with the customary circumstances. Therefore, we hereby grant you the faculty to convoke the Provincial Chapter in the way that suits you best. Please note that in it what is prescribed in the Constitutions, especially in the third and fourth parts concerning the Provincials, must be observed with exactitude. Nothing should be done that could be annulled or its validity called into question. The active voice in local chapters is held by all those ordained in sacris; the passive voice is held only by those who, according to the Constitutions, have seven years of profession and three years of priesthood. Keep this letter of ours in the archives and send us a certificate of receipt. May God our Lord assist you with his grace and blessing.

Rome, May 10, 1664.

Aff. servant in the Lord

Camillo of St. Jerome, General”.

117 B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 464r. The visitators of the province were Fr. Alexis Armini, appointed on September 1660, and Fr. Joseph Pennazzi, appointed on September 10, 1661, as recorded in the Register of Patents, f. 7r.

118 Cf. notes 56 and 58.

119 Cf. note 58.

120 On this matter, see his Memorandum addressed to D. Prospero Fagnano, which is in the Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc. Arm. VII, 65, ff. 9r and 12v), which reads as follows:

“Most Ill. and Rev. Lord.

Father Vincent of the Conception, Roman Provincial of the Pious Schools, humbly informs Your Excellency that his Father General, in giving him the patent of the said office, told him that all the houses in Rome were immediately subject to him and subtracted from the jurisdiction of the Provincial and added that there was a decree on the matter. The supplicant orator knows that if this were so, his coming from Genoa to Rome would be useless and the good will of so many observant religious would be disappointed, since if no remedy is done in these houses in Rome, the Provincial will not be able to introduce the true observance in those outside. Therefore, he begs Your Excellency to consider this point and to give the opportune remedy.

On the back (f. 12v):

To the Most Reverend Monsignor Fagnani, Secretary of the Sacred Visitation.

Second hand: Listen to Father General.

By the Roman Provincial of the Pious Schools”.

On this same subject, see also the report issued by Fr. Scassellati (Arch. Secr. Vat., Misc., Arm. VII, 65, f. 38):

“It has always been the custom in the Congregation of the Fathers of the Pious Schools since its origin that the Provincials of the Roman Province have no jurisdiction over the houses in Rome, because they are immediately subject to Father General. In the year 1637, the General Chapter was held in Rome with the intervention of the Most Reverend Prelates of the Visitation, Mons. Landi, Bishop Altieri, Vicegerent, later Cardinal, Bishop Rospigliosi, now living Cardinal, elected by the Supreme Pontiff as presidents of the said Chapter, in addition to the other determinations for the good government of the novitiate, the following decree was given with these precise words:

6.º) that the novitiate in Rome be immediately subject to Father General.

Later in the General Chapter of the year 1641, the aforementioned decree was confirmed with the following words:

“As regards the decrees of this session, there is no innovation whatsoever, since the Most Reverend and Most Reverend Prelates of the Sacred Apostolic Visitation, who presided at the Chapter of 1637, so disposed.

These decisions were always carried out by the Provincial Fathers Joseph of the Visitation, who resides in Frascati, and by Father Glycerio of the Nativity, who resides in Narni, during their respective provincialates. No one else has had jurisdiction in Rome. And after the Brief, obtained from the Supreme Pontiff, Father Peter of St. Joseph, Provincial of this Province, fixed his residence in Frascati, without exercising any authority in the houses of Rome.

And to resolve any difficulty in the election of the Provincials, on the 11th of last February, before proceeding to the election of the new Roman Provincial, Father Vincent de la Conception, the following decree was made in the General Congregation:

In the name of the Lord. Amen.

Following the custom observed at other times in our Congregation, as well as the decrees and decisions of the General Chapters that have been celebrated in Rome, in order to dissipate any doubt before the election of Father Vincent of the Conception as Provincial of the Roman Province, the following was decreed: that the Roman Provincial has no jurisdiction whatsoever over our houses erected in Rome.

This decree was sent to the said Father Provincial by the Secretary of the General Congregation before giving him the patent (May 25, 1662)”.

121 Cf. note 58.

122 Cf. the Minutes of the General Congregation (Reg. Gen. 9, f. 12) of February 10, 1662.

123 Ibidem, f. 13.

124 Ibidem, f. 13v.

125 His letter to Cardinal Marcio Ginetti, dated April 19, 1664, is found in the General Archives (Reg. Serv. Dei, 60, 29) and reads as follows:

“Bless me Most Eminent Lord, Most Venerable Lord and Master:

With the present letter I have been informed by a person of all confidence that my Father General, with the vote of one of his Assistants and of a second who was not legitimately elected Assistant, that is, Father Nicholas of St. Francis Xavier, has elected Father Charles Mary of St. Benedict as Provincial for this Province of Naples. This he has done for no other reason than because I have sought from Your Holiness with a Memorandum that the General Chapter be intimated, since because of the bad government of the said Father I saw that the holy observance in our Congregation and in particular in our Province was getting worse and worse. And since you have often given me the opportunity to communicate to you the injustices that have been done to me - and perhaps with a certain contempt for my person, sometimes accusing me of not keeping my word - I could not help but write to you my feelings, freely and in all truth. The more I tried to lead this province along the path of a certain observance in order to correct the previous laxity of spirit, the more the aforementioned Father General sowed weeds in it, defending the insolence of some scandalous ones and compromising my reputation before my subjects. Finally, seeing that the case was irremediable, I decided last year, in order to live in peace, to beg him to appoint another provincial who was a supporter of his. The matter did not go any further, but I was advised to withdraw the request, as I did, and I reported it to the aforementioned Father General and the Assistants; and I continued to bear this cross with patience, trying to comply with my obligation and leave on the conscience of the said Father what through his fault I could not remedy. Now it seems to me that I have need to appeal to Your Eminence in favor of justice, humbly asking you to give me permission to go to Rome and to justify myself at your feet both for my personal reputation and also for that of Your Eminence and that of His Eminence Vidoni who procured this office for me and I accepted it trusting in the protection of Your Eminences. And to conclude this letter here, referring myself in everything and for everything to the prudence and holy zeal of Your Eminence, I humbly reverence it and kiss the sacred purple.

From Your Eminence,

Naples, on April 19, 1664,

most humble and most grateful servant in the Lord Onofrio of the Most Holy Sacrament.”

The Memorandum addressed to Prospero Fagnano can be found in the Vat. Secret Archives (Misc., Arm. VIII, 95) and reads:

“Adsit Virtus Romana Spiritus Sancti (Assist the Roman Virtue of the Holy Spirit).

Most Ill. and Rev Lord. The election of Fr Nicholás of St Francis Xavier for Assistant General of the Congregation of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, as well as the election of Fr. Charles Mary of St Benedict for Provincial of the Neapolitan Province and the removal from the said provincialate of Fr. Onofrio of the Most Holy Sacrament are null:

1.º) Because in the election of the said Assistant the majority of the body of electors did not agree to elect the said Fr. Nicolás (Lezana in the Sum. quaest. reg. cap. 19. De oblig. relig. il electione facienda, n. 10, tomo primero, fol. 64). Therefore the election was null and void;

2.º) because in that election the other two legitimate electors, who did not give their favorable vote, were disregarded, being so that the fraudulently invalid election by a tie vote is maintained as valid; and consequently, the election must be reviewed (Lezana, number cited above, verse also quoted by Silvestre in the Summa, word electio, first, quaest. 5, vers. 5, no. 5);

3.º) because it was restricted to Fr. Nicholas alone; and even restricted to three or four it is null (Peyun, quaest. prima, cap. 31, part. 8; Rodrig., tom. 2; qu. regul. quaest. 52, art. 11 and others cited by the same). And to such an extent was it restricted, that although there were not sufficient votes for him, nevertheless they wanted fraudulently by force to make him an Assistant.

4.º) because the elected one suffers from a long illness of podagra and other illnesses and cannot observe the rules; because for superiors should be elected those who can and usually observe the Rules of the Order and the Constitutions, mainly regarding the common dress and food (decree of Clement VIII of holy memory for the reform of the Regulars, both monks and mendicants of any Order and Institute, par. 36, collected by Naldo in his Summa, word Religiosus, fol. 1074);

5.º) because before the said election the electors did not take an oath to elect the best and most suitable and the Constitutions were not even read beforehand about the qualities and requirements of those who are to be elected, according to the decree of Clement VIII of holy memory (said part. 36, collected by the aforementioned Naldo, fol. 1074);

6.º) because the said Father Nicholas cannot hold two offices without the authorization of the Apostolic See; for he was, and still is, Secretary of the ordinary Congregation of the said General and Assistants, which is convoked every week to deal with the affairs of the congregation (Lezana, in the Summa, quaest. reg. tit. De oblig. per valid. regul., ch. 18, no. 79);

7.º) because the said Father Nicholas, elected Assistant, and therefore having a decisive vote together with the General and the other Assistants, is thus immediately subject to the Supreme Pontiff, but he has not asked the said Supreme Pontiff or the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars for the confirmation of his election (Lezana, in the Summa, quaest. reg, ch. 25, fol. 64; vol. 1; Sylvester in the Summa, confi rmatio, part three, u. 3, ch. Avaritia de elect. at n. 6);

8º) because although the election of Father Onofrio as Neapolitan Provincial was made with the approval of the General and the Assistants, nevertheless, there is a norm in the said Congregation of the Pious Schools according to which the provincials must remain in office for at least three years. And Father General himself, after his election at the last Chapter, elected all the Provincials with his approval, and yet all the said Provincials have remained in the office of the provincialate for more than a three-year term, as Father General can never deny. It is therefore requested to grant Father Onofrio license to go to Rome in order to justify himself, especially since there is a decree of the Founder General and the Assistants, a copy of which is enclosed, by which all religious are forbidden access to Rome except Provincials and Visitators.

On the back: Sacred Congregation of Religious. To the Illustrious and Rev. Prospero Fagnano.

Onofrio of the Most Holy Sacrament, Neapolitan Provincial.

By fact and by law.

Second hand: To the Procurator General”.

Regarding the resignation of Fr. Onofrio Conti and its acceptance, see the Minutes of the General Congregation (Reg. Gen., 9, April 4, 1664), where we read the following:

“On Friday, April 4, 1664, a congregation was held, in which a letter was read, addressed jointly to Father General and the Assistants, and some other letters written on different occasions by Father Onofrio Conti of the Most Holy Sacrament, Provincial of the Kingdom of Naples, in which the resignation from the provincialate, his long and incurable illnesses and many other difficulties mentioned by him, due to which it was necessary for him to retire, were considered. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to proceed to the election of another Provincial”.

Finally, see also the letter of Fr. Scassellati on April 12, 1664 to Fr. Onofrio Conti, which is found in the Register of Patents, f. 97v, and reads as follows:

“Pax Christi!

Since Your Reverence has written many times to us and to our Assistants stating that you do not wish to continue in the exercise of your provincialate, having even resigned it; and having been warned lately that because of your indisposition it was necessary for you to retire; after considering everything and consulting with our Father Assistants, and having even informed His Eminence Cardinal Ginetti, our Protector, with his consent, we proceeded to the election of another Provincial, who is Father Charles of St. Benedict, which took place on the 4th of the current month of April. Father will be considerate of your person, as we have warmly recommended; we will see to it during our term of office that this recommendation is carried out so that you may keep your health. This is all, etc.

May God our Lord always assist you with his holy grace and bless you.

Rome, April 12, 1664.

From Your Most Reverend Servant in the Lord”.

126 See the respective items in notes 56-58.

127 Cf. note 55.

128 Cf. note 48.

129 Cf. B. Bartlik, o. c., ff. 474-475, and the Register of Patents, f. 6r.

130 Regarding the intervention of Cardinal Vicar, see the Minutes of the General Congregation of December 8, 1663, where we read the following:

“Having proceeded to the vote to elect Father Nicholas of St. Francis Xavier as Assistant in place of the deceased Father Peter Luke of St. Michael of b.m., after invoking the Holy Spirit and recalling the observance of the pontifical Bulls, the suffrages were cast. It was recalled that the white balls were favorable and the black ones unfavorable. The votes were divided equally, that is, there were two white balls and two black balls. Then Father General said that the arbitration of the Protector was required for the decision. In witness whereof I, the undersigned Secretary, have set this here on the day and year as above.

To the said Father Nicholas

M. Cardinal Ginetti, Protector

Camillo of St. Jerome, General

Joseph of the Visitation, Assistant

Michael of St. Mary

Peter of the Annunciation, Assistant”.

Cf. also B. Bartlik, o. c., f. 485.

131 Cf. the Minutes of the General Congregation, January 18, 1664.

132 See note 125.

133 See this decree in the Register of Patents, f. 221v:

“Camillo of St. Jerome, Superior General of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools.

In accordance with the decrees of the General Chapter recently celebrated, we order and command all our religious residing in this city of Rome, that within three days of the publication of this letter, under penalty of excommunication prescribed in the same Chapter, if they have any Constitutions adulterated or translated into any other language, they show and hand them over to us.

We further command in virtue of holy obedience to our religious, that in like manner they present and deliver to us all the preceding chapters and all the seals of our congregation inscribed on the letters of office, and that henceforth it shall not be lawful for any particular person to have or keep them in any manner whatsoever.

The same must be done with each and every one of the deeds, whether they belong to the whole congregation or to any of our houses, which we desire and command to be kept in their archives. Given at St. Pantaleo, Rome, in our Pious Schools, on the 29th day of July 1659.

Camillus of St. Jerome, General.

Peter Luke of St. Michael, Assistant and Secretary by mandate.”

134 Cf. the Minutes of the General Chapter celebrated in 1655, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” I (1936) 18-19.

135 Cf. the Minutes of the General Chapter celebrated in 1655, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” II (1937) 12.

136 Cf. the Minutes of the General Chapter of 1659, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” I (1936) 23.

137 Cf. note 59.

138 Cf. note 56.

139 Cf. note 63.

140 See the Minutes of the General Congregation of June 17, 1661, where we read the following:

1.- “It was decided that Father Vincent of the Conception would continue in place of Fr. Provincial of Liguria until the weather is fresh and then come to Rome. And to write to him not to make any important decision without the consent of his consultors. And when there is any difference between them, let them suspend any decision and write to Rome about it.

See also the letter of Fr. Scassellati of June 18, 1661 to the same Fr. Berro (Register of Patents, f. 92r):

“We with the Assistants have judged it opportune that, since the heat is advanced and it is no longer time to travel, also with the circumstance of the death of Fr. John Chrysostom (may God has him in glory), Your Rev. retake the office of Provincial until it cools down. Then you will be able to come to Rome to carry out the task assigned to you of carrying out the process of our Venerable Father Founder. Therefore, for common satisfaction, in things of certain importance, do not make any decision without the consent of your consultors. And in the event that any difference should arise between you, which we do not believe will happen, give us a report of it, and we will resolve whatever is convenient. This my letter will serve as proof of your status as superior. May God our Lord always assist you with his grace and blessing.

Rome, June 18, 1661.

From Your Most Reverend Servant in the Lord

Camillo of St. Jerome, General”.

141 Cf. note 61.

142 Cf. note 62.

143 Cf. the Minutes of the General Congregation of October 9, 1665, where the following is decreed:

“In the name of the Lord, Amen..

Since the Capitular Fathers by common accord desired and requested in General Chapter on May 22, 1659, that there should not fail to be a Procurator to carry forward the process of the life of the Venerable Servant of God, Our Father Founder of the Pious Schools, Joseph of the Mother of God, by another name Calasanz; and since on August 26, 1659, Fr. Joseph of St Eustace, General Procurator, was elected for that office by Father Camillo of St. Jerome, Superior General, together with his Assistants; now, in order that this matter may proceed with greater diligence and fervor, in addition to the above-mentioned Fr. Joseph of St Eustace, now our fourth Assistant, we also assign and appoint to this office Father Angel of St Dominic, first Assistant, and Father John Charles of St. Barbara, priest, so that all things that seem necessary and opportune not only for the process of life, but for the entire cause of beatification and canonization, separately or jointly, but with reciprocal communication, can and may be able to carry them out with diligence and to execute them faithfully. And, at least once a month, they should give an account of what has been done in the Congregation of Father General and the Assistants.

Thus: Alexis of the Conception, General Assistant and Secretary.”

144 Copies of these letters are also found in the Register of Patents, f. 280.

145 For this author see “Eph. Cal.” II (1934) 56-57; but this life is not a historical exposition, but as the title itself indicates – Iosephus; Prosa, elegiacis ex pressus encomiis seu Vita et virtutes Ven. Iosephi a Matre Dei - a composition made in literary style and in the manner of an elegy. Cf. L. Picanyol, Rerum Latinarum Scriptores, p. 205. This same father composed two years later another life in Italian, entitled Il Fondatore delle Scuole Pie o vero Vita del Vener. Servo di Dio Gioseppe Calasanz, detto nella Religione Gioseppe della Madre di Dio, descritta e considerata dal P. Giovanni Francesco di Giesù Maria da Corliano d’Otranto (Arch. General, Reg. Calas., 81). This life was never published and has hardly any historical importance.

146 Cf. Minutes of the General Chapter of 1659, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” I (1936) 22-23.

147 Cf. the decree adduced in note 133; see other decrees on libraries in the Register of Patents, ff. 222r, 223v.

148 J. C. Caputi, o. c., I, 1, nn. 77-79.

149 Cf. Pasquale Vannucci, Il Collegio Nazareno, Rome, 1930, pp. 113-115; 126-127.

150 L. Picanyol, Selectae Latinitatis Epistolarium P. Caroli Mazzei a S. Antonio Patavino, Rome, 1937. pp. 5-6.

151 P. Vannucci, o. c., pp. 112-115; see also the school texts or books composed by Fr. Scassellati during his rectorate, which according to the index of Rerum latinarum Scriptores are as follows:

1. Oratio in funere Ven. Servi Dei Iosephi a Matre Dei, Cl. Reg. Paup. Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum Fundatoris et Generalis. Rome, Caballo, 1649

2. Methodus artificiosae orationis sive rethoricae Institutiones, Romae, de Falchi, 1664.

3. Methodus emendatae orationis sive grammaticae Institutiones. Romae, Ghezzi, 1665.

4. Methodus epistolaris sive breves Institutiones ad litteras conscribendas. Romae, Ghezzi, 1665.

5. Methodus progymnastica sive artificiosae orationis prolusivae Institutiones. Romae, De Falchi, 1665.

6. Methodus metricae orationis sive poeticae Institutiones. Romae, De Falchi, 1665.

7. Lusus canori seu varia Poematia. Romae, Lupardi, 1672.

8. Florum fasciculus sive variae orationes. Romae, Ghezzi, 1667.

For more extensive bibliographical information see the aforementioned work of Father Picanyol. To the works of Fr. Picanyol should be added, however, the following works

l. Oratio in funere Servi Dei P. Petri a Nat. Virg. Scholarum Piarum. Romae, Caballo, 1648. Cf. la nota 18.

2. Promptuarium Variae Eruditionis addiscentium compendio accomodatum, manuscript, 1675.

152 See the document in the General Archives, Dom. Gen., 1, n. 27.

153 See the Catalogue of students of the Pious Schools from Nov. 1, 1660, to Oct. 9, 1661, in the Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc., Arm. VII, 65, ff. 18-19).

154 See note 116.

155 This Memorandum is in the Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc., Arm. VIII, 95) and reads as follows:

“Most Blessed Father

Joseph Eustace, of Pesaro, General Procurator of the Congregation of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness, humbly exposes that the Constitutions of the said Congregation, confirmed by Your Holiness in the first year of your pontificate, determine that its generals are for life. Thus was the present Father Camillus of St. Jerome, of Urbino, elected by the Chapter celebrated in May 1650 by order of Your Holiness, under the presidency of the Protector, Most Em. Ginetti. The esteem and reputation of the said Father, which made him the worthiest for that office, was demonstrated by the fact that the delegates unanimously, after taking the customary oath, elected him General at the first scrutiny. From this election the entire Congregation was satisfied and content; good proof of this is the fact that they received the superiors, both provincial and local, who had been elected by him and were sent there.”

About a year later, while the Congregation was living very quietly under the government of the said Father, some Assistants, who were also delegates in the said Chapter, seeing themselves perhaps excluded from the hope of becoming generals, seeing that the one elected was younger than them, although not of inferior merits, appealed without consulting the opinion of the Provinces to Your Holiness to ask how the General’s term of office should last, without realizing that the Constitutions, confirmed as indicated above, wanted generals for life, as can be deduced from the following words (Part 3, Chapter 2):

“Since the experience and practice of government and the knowledge of the people and the authority over them contribute greatly to the good performance of this service, the election will be for life and not temporary”.

And that he had been elected in this way and recognized by the General Chapter itself and by all the rest of the Congregation. Your Holiness was good enough, with regard to the consultation of the said assistants, to determine with a particular Brief that the present General, like future ones, should remain in office for six years. But since the Constitutions themselves order that a General Chapter be held every six years, the doubt arises as to whether the six years, in accordance with the said Brief, should begin to be counted from the day of the election or from the day of the said Brief. It seems that it should be the latter, given the right acquired in the election made according to the Constitutions, which wanted the General for life. In this regard, by declaration, Your Holiness is implored that the Congregation be maintained with the customary quietude, as it is also implored that the generals, since they must be temporary, deign to grant them the privilege of remaining superiors in their congregation when their generalate is over. That they take their place immediately after the General in office and have a vote in all congregations and General Chapters; that they may choose their own domicile, with a lay brother to serve them at their discretion. Many ancient and modern Religions also enjoy such privileges. And one may think that if the first Fathers, in the Constitutions confirmed by Your Holiness, had disposed that the Generals should be temporary, they would have declared and determined something in favor of them, so that, being generals in such a condition, they would have been able to satisfy their office without human respect, but purely for God’s sake.

It is also brought to the attention of Your Holiness that the present General was the first since the foundation of the Congregation to be elected for life in a General Chapter as prescribed by the Constitutions, confirmed as has been said by Your Holiness. And that he occupied the office at a time when the Congregation had been without novices for many years, disunited and reduced to a very small number of members, after Your Holiness had seen fit to reunite it, determining that no one should be admitted before the age of eighteen, and that no one could be employed in the schools until the age of twenty-eight. And also, that because of the labors of the world he has not been able, nor has he had the time or the means to experiment his talent in government until now, taking into account also the scarcity of subjects, since few have come and in such a short time, it has not been possible to prepare them for the institute. It is humbly requested of Your Holiness, in the event that for the aforementioned reasons, as for his merit, integrity and goodness of life, prudence and doctrine, going beyond the said declaration, it would be possible to extend either for another six years or for the whole of his life, as he had been elected in the last General Chapter, so that he, with such grace, according to his good will and religious discipline, may reaffirm, as the whole congregation desires, the sprouts of this new and tender plant, established in the garden of the Church by the supreme piety and zeal of Your Holiness.

To Whom God, etc.

On the back: To the Holiness of Our Lord, Pope Alexander VII

By the Procurator General of the Poor Clerics of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools.

Second hand: Speak of it Bishop Fagnano”.

156 The letter of Father Onofrio is found in the same volume cited above and reads as follows:

“Most Blessed Father:

The Clerics Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, most humble sons of Your Holiness, lovers of the good order and government of your things, seeing the time approaching for the General Chapter, which according to your Constitutions, confirmed by the present Brief of Your Holiness, which is attached, must be convoked every six year. And with all reverence, prostrate at your feet, beg you to deign to grant and give orders so that it may be convened; and not to allow this to be obstructed, in case there were those who under various pretexts would try to impede it. This would greatly harm all those who long for good observance and especially the Provinces which are waiting with great desires for the said General Chapter, so that in it many things may be ordered and remedied for their public good, which on another occasion it is not possible to remedy.

On the back:

To the Holiness of Our Lord Pope Alexander VII

For the Clerics Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools

Second hand: D. Franc. Franc. Cristaldi

Em. Altieri and Mons. Fagnano”.

157 This Memorandum is found in the Register of Patents (f. 98v) and reads as follows:

“To the Holiness of Our Lord, Alexander VII,

Camillo of St. Jerome, of Urbino, General of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, humbly submits that by virtue of the Constitutions of his Congregation, confirmed by Your Holiness, the General Chapter must be celebrated in Rome every six years. And when the time comes to celebrate it in the month of May of 1665, in order to be able to intimate it, I demand prostrate to Your Holiness the approval together with your holy blessing.

All this, etc. To Whom God, etc.”

158 Cf. the Minutes of the General Chapter of the year 1665, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” II (1937) 5-7.

159 This Memorandum is found in the Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc., Arm. VIII, 95) and reads:

“At the feet of Your Holiness, it is reverently exposed that the Constitutions of the Congregation of the Fathers Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools, confirmed also in the year 1656 by Your Holiness, in reuniting the said Congregation, prescribe that its Generals be for life, as we read in the same, third part, second chapter:

“Since the experience and practice of government and the knowledge of the people and the authority over them contribute greatly to the good performance of this service, the election will be for life and not temporary”.

It pleased Y.H. after a year from the election of the present General, made in the General Chapter celebrated in May 1659, to reduce with a particular Brief both this General and any other who should be elected in the future to a six-year term. In this regard, Bishop Fagnani, to whom Your Excellency entrusted this matter, is punctiliously informed. The Constitutions which wanted the Generals for life did not provide anything in favor of them or of any other officer, as one can believe that they would have provided if they had established them temporarily. Therefore it is humbly appealed and begged to Your Holiness, since the General Chapter is to be held has been already intimated, that being the first after such a reduction, it be deigned before it is held to grant by means of a particular Brief as a privilege to each General, that at the end of his six-year term he continue during his life as superior in the congregation and always occupy the place immediately below that of the General in office (and according to seniority of profession, if there is more than one); that he shall have a vote in all congregations and General Chapters, which shall be held at any time by the whole body of the cCngregation, and the power to choose at his discretion the residence and a lay brother to serve him in one of the houses of the congregation. And to grant also to the General Procurators that, when their office is ended, each one of them may remain during his lifetime with a vote in all the congregations and General Chapters that shall be celebrated as aforesaid. These privileges and graces are likewise enjoyed by similar officials in other ancient and modern Religions, in order that these, in governing, may have occasion to exercise their office without human respect, but purely for God’s sake. With these favors and graces one can believe that, together with the good government, the tranquility of the said congregation will be maintained and established, which will always recognize its progress as due to the supreme piety and zeal of Your Holiness, to whom God, etc.

On the back: For the Congregation of the Poor Fathers of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools.

Second hand: Speak of it Bishop Fagnano”.

160 Cf. the Minutes of the General Chapter of the year 1665, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” II (1937) 11.

161 See note 125.

162 This Memorandum is found in the Arch. Secr. Vat. (Misc., Arm. VIII, 95) and reads as follows:

“Most Blessed Father:

In the congregation of the Fathers Poor of the Mother of God, called the Pious Schools, the rectorate of the house of St. Pantaleo in Rome, being the first and principal of the whole Congregation, where the founders themselves have lived and where the General and other major superiors continually live, has always been entrusted to some of the most qualified subjects there have ever been in the Congregation. Many of those who have served in this position and in government have been Generals, General Assistants and Provincials, and have held other principal offices in the Congregation. Presently, the Rector of that house is Fr. Dominic, a Sardinian, a person of great merit, both for the goodness of his life, integrity of morals and aptitude for government, as well as for his unique doctrine, having been the first to have explained theology to the religious of the congregation with notable benefit and applause. Now, since the rectors of the said house are always qualified persons, it could be very beneficial that in the General Chapters they have an active and passive vote, all the more so since the number of delegates of the said Congregation is very restricted and does not exceed thirty. Therefore, the present General Procurator humbly beseeches Your Holiness, for the greater service of God and the greater good of the said Congregation, and also in order that the election may be made more canonical and worthily, to grant that the present and future rectors of the said house of St. Pantaleon in Rome may have the active and passive vote in the General Chapters.

Which, etc.

On the back: To the Holiness of Our Lord

By the General Procurator of the Fathers Poor of the Pious Schools

Second hand: To Bishop Fagnani”.

163 Cf. note 88.

164 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., II, 5 (2), f. 129; III, 7 (1), f. 33-34.

165 Cf. Minutes of the General Chapter of the year 1665, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” II (1937) 12-13.

166 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., V, 11, f. 149 v-l53v.

167 Cf. J. C. Caputi, o. c., II, 1, n. 317:

“Father Camillus, even after his generalate, always gave classes or repetitions to the students of Collegio Nazareno”.

Cf. note 151.

168 Read what Father Carlo Mazzei said about Father Scassellati as an orator in Florum fasciculus (p. before the table of contents):

Qui bene, ceu Cicero, orandi praecepta Camillus

Tradit et eloquii qui bene pandit opes,

ldem mirificos promit Ciceronis et instar,

Sermones, dignos posteritate frui.

Est vere ut Cicero, et parili dignandus honore:

Cum Cicerone docet, cum Cicerone tonat.

(Camillus, who like Cicero transmits well the laws of oratory and manifest the riches of eloquence, he himself also composes, in the manner of Cicero, admirable speeches, worthy to be remembered by posterity. He is truly like Cicero and worthy of similar honor: with Cicero he teaches, with Cicero he thunders).

169 Fr. Tomás Garrido, Calasanctiades Insignes Latinitatis Assertores, in “Ephem. Cal.” III (1934) 258-265; Quirino Santoloci, Profili di Scolopi ltalianiani Umanisti, Collegio Nazareno II (1958) 16-17.

170 Cf. Q. Santoloci, o.c., p. 17; L. Picanyol, Selectae Latinitatis Epistolarium, p. 5.

171 The title of the thesis is: “Example I. In which the political precept that poor children should not be instructed in letters (pp. 146-154) is criticized”.

172 Cf. Minutes of the General Chapter of 1671, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” II (1937) 23.

173 Cf. Minutes of the General Chapter of the year 1677, in “Archivum Scholarum Piarum” III (1938) 9.

174 Cf. note l.

175 Regarding his death and burial, see the following account in the volume entitled Memoirs of the house of St. Pantaleon from the year 1677 to 1689 (Dom. Gen. 16, f. 14v):

“On the 21st of that month (May 1678), Father Camillo of St. Jerome, who was General and Rector of Collegio Nazareno, died there of fever, anguished by the prolonged illness of podagra, chiragra, etc. In the evening at dusk his body was taken to St. Pantaleo and on the morning of the 22nd from the oratory to the porter’s lodge and through the square it was taken to the church, accompanied by a procession of all the Fathers; four priests and eight schoolboys of Collegio Nazareno carried the coffin, eight torches, with which it was exposed on a catafalque dressed in black crests, until the sacred services were over. In the afternoon, when the wooden box was closed, he was buried in the tomb in front of the altar of the Annunciation. The school paid for the wax for the altars, Fathers and tomb”.

176 Emerologium, Rome, 1940, p. 43.

177 See note l.

178 These are: l.) “Dudum felicis recordationis Paulus Papa V” (24 January 1656); 2.) “Ex Romani Pontificis prudentia” (4 April 1656); 3.) “Cum, sicut accepimus” (28 April 1660).

179 Cf. L. Picanyol, Lezioni di storia scolopica, in “Rassegna di storia e bibliografi a scolopica” XVI (1950) 19

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I

THE LIFE OF FATHER CAMILLO AND HIS ACTIVITIES UNTIL HIS APPOINTMENT AS GENERAL (1610-1659)

CHAPTER II

FATHER CAMILLO SCASSELLATI´S GENERALATE (1659-1665)

THE BRIEF “CUM, SICUT ACCEPIMUS” (APRIL 28, 1660)

THE APOSTOLIC VISITATION IN THE YEARS 1661-1662

PROBLEMS ARISING FROM THE FIRST BRIEF OF ALEXANDER VII

STUDIES OF CANDIDATES FOR THE PIOUS SCHOOLS

CHAPTER III

EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF THE INSTITUTE

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCES

DIFFICULTIES WITHIN THE GENERAL CONGREGATION ITSELF

OTHER AFFAIRS OF GOVERNMENT

EXECUTION OF THE DECREES OF THE GENERAL CHAPTER

PROCESS OF THE BEATIFICATION OF CALASANZ

CULTIVATION OF LETTERS AND SCIENCES

PREPARATION FOR THE GENERAL CHAPTER

LAST ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN THE GENERALATE FOR LIFE

EPILOGUE

NOTES