RULERS OF E V I L
ished” the S o c i e t y of Jesus “for all eternity” so as “to establish a real and e n d u r i n g p e a c e w i t h i n the C h u r c h . ” A l l t h e Jesuits’ “offices, a u t h o r i t i e s , a n d f u n c t i o n s ” were d e c l a r e d “ n u l l and v o i d , and all their houses, colleges, hospices, and any o t h e r places o c c u p i e d by t h e m t o b e h e r e b y disestablished, n o m a t t e r i n w h a t p r o v i n c e , state, or k i n g d o m they might be found.” C l e m e n t appointed five cardinals, an archbishop, a bishop, two t h e o l o g i a n s , and o t h e r e c c l e s i a s t i c a l d i g n i t a r i e s t o supervise the D i s e s t a b l i s h m e n t . N o n e o f t h e c o n f i s c a t e d Jesuit records, correspondence, and accounts showed any incriminating e v i d e n c e . A l t h o u g h L o r e n z o R i c c i l i v e d a short w a l k from t h e pope’s palace at St. Peter’s, n o t i c e of the Disestablishment was n o t served u p o n h i m until m i d - A u g u s t . Guards t o o k the G e n e r a l into custody at his offices in N u m b e r 45 Piazza del G e s u . T h e y r e m o v e d h i m to t h e E n g l i s h C o l l e g e a few b l o c k s away. He r e m a i n e d t h e r e five weeks. T h i n g s were t h e n h a p p e n i n g i n England and A m e r i c a that m a k e Ricci’s p r e s e n c e in t h e E n g l i s h C o l l e g e e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y sign i f i c a n t . W e shall c o n s i d e r those h a p p e n i n g s i n a f o r t h c o m i n g chapter T o w a r d t h e e n d o f S e p t e m b e r , L o r e n z o R i c c i was t a k e n from the English C o l l e g e to C a s tel
Sant’Angelo,
a
me-
d i e v a l fortress w h o s e d u n g e o n s suggest a prison. His d e t e n t i o n was probably less demeaning than we might imagine,
as
contained View of St. Peter’s Basilica from Castel Sant’Angelo
rooms.
Sant’Angelo
quite
Popes
elegant
often
used
t h e m as a c o n v e n i e n t resort
from
administrative
stresses. In fact, a secret u n d e r g r o u n d t u n n e l c o n n e c t e d S a n t ’ A n gelo to the papal palace at the V a t i c a n . It would be consistent w i t h L o r e n z o R i c c i ’ s p o s i t i o n and strategy for h i m to stay in p e r s o n a l , secret c o n t a c t w i t h C l e m e n t X I V by means of this tunnel. O n S e p t e m b e r 2 2 , 1 7 7 4 , the first anniversary o f Ricci’s d e t e n -
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