Mutio Vitelleschi

Who was Mutio Vitelleschi?

Very Rev. Mutio Vitelleschi, S.J. was the 6th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was the son of a noble Roman family. Although he was destined for a general ecclesiastical career, a growing desire to enter the Society of Jesus culminated in his taking private vows to enter the novitiate. His parents opposed this, possibly because of the promise not to seek ecclesiastical office or status that Jesuits make. However he was able to receive permission from Pope Gregory XIII, a strong supporter of the Jesuits, a concession to enter the novitiate against his families will.