St. Joseph Pignatelli (1737-1811)

Joseph Pignatelli was a Jesuit at the time of the suppression of the order by Pope Clement XIV, and it was he who helped keep the spirit of the Jesuits alive during the long period of its suppression (1773-1814). Born in Spain, he joined the Jesuits at sixteen. He was ordained in 1762. In 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from Spain by order of King Charles III, and similar expulsions soon took place in Portugal and France. Pope Clement XIV formally suppressed the Jesuits in 1773. In 1797, the duke of Parma, with the encouragement of Joseph, received permission from the pontiff to establish a Jesuit province in his duchy. In 1798, Pope Pius VI authorized Father Joseph to receive novices at Parma. Appointed Jesuit provincial of Italy, Joseph presided at the restoration of the society in Naples when Jesuits from all over the world came together, and in 1806 Pius VII restored the Gesu and the Roman college to the order. Joseph directed the restoration of the order before its official restoration by the pontiff in 1814. Weakened by his tubercular condition, Father Joseph died on November 11, 1811, and was canonized in 1954. He is considered the savior and restorer of the Society of Jesus.
(From EWTN)