This chapter follows Eliano’s successful mission in Lebanon, which included the preparation of a printing press in Rome, sending Lebanese seminarians to Italy, a general synod, and dozens of pastoral visits to Lebanese villages. Nevertheless, his superiors remained skeptical of him. In turn, Eliano needed to find new ways to prove to his superiors that he could lead. In previous missions, he relied on his missionary empathy and emphasized that he alone could aid in conversion because of his own experiences. In this mission, Eliano emphasized his textual and pastoral skills that were grounded in his knowledge of Semitic languages as well as knowledge of colloquial Arabic. He also used his knowledge of scriptural exegesis to liken himself to biblical heroes of the faith, such as the prophet Elijah or John the Baptist – his namesakes. Given that his ability to do all of this was honed during his Jewish youth, Eliano surreptitiously promoted himself to his superiors as the only Jesuit who could safeguard the Maronites. This allowed Eliano to bolster his status as Jesuit by emphasizing his Jewishness while successfully distancing himself from anxieties that he was a crypto-Jew.

This chapter begins with a brief sketch of Eliano’s time as preacher and professor of Hebrew and Arabic at the Jesuit college in Rome (1563–77). During this period, however, leading Jesuits moved away from admitting men of Jewish lineage into the Society of Jesus. As the only Jewish-born Jesuit, Eliano found himself on the outs with his superiors, such as when Eliano was not trusted to lead the mission to Lebanon called by Pope Gregory XIII in 1577. Yet, his skills were deemed valuable, so he was relegated to interpreter and translator for the mission’s superior, Tommaso Raggio. However, once the mission began, Raggio's inexperience was evident. In turn, neither Eliano nor the Maronites wished to work with Raggio, and the mission was aborted within months. This chapter ends with Eliano’s return to Rome. Chapter Three illuminates the tension that Jesuit leaders had with Eliano. On one hand, they saw in him a uniquely skilled Jesuit because his Jewish youth trained him for this very work. On the other hand, increased institutional skepticism of Jewish-lineage Jesuits meant that his superiors were unwilling to let him lead, lest his potential crypto-Judaism sabotage the mission.