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May 9, 2024 · Jesuit, member of the Society of Jesus (S.J.), a Roman Catholic order of religious men founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, noted for its educational, missionary, and charitable works. The order has been regarded by many as the principal agent of the Counter-Reformation and was later a leading force in modernizing the church.
Jul 21, 2010 · 1540. Jesuit order established. In Rome, the Society of Jesus—a Roman Catholic missionary organization—receives its charter from Pope Paul III. The Jesuit order played an important role in...
Jesuit structure is not unlike that of the United States. The order is organized into geographic areas called “provinces,” which are like states. There are nearly 90 Jesuit provinces around the world (although their number and boundaries have never been static). There are six provinces in the United States and Canada.
- Ignatius Loyola Was An Unlikely Religious Leader
- The First Jesuits Were University Room Mates
- The Jesuits Never Intended to Go to Rome Or to Serve The Popes
- The Jesuits’ Religious Rule Was Radical
- The Jesuits Were A Global Order from The First Years
- The Jesuits Were Accidental Educators
- The Jesuits Were Coveted Confessors
- The Jesuits Have Long Inspired Conspiracy and Intrigue
- The Jesuits Were Suppressed in 1773
- Pope Francis Is The First Ever Jesuit Pope
Nobody would have predicted that Iñigo de Loyola would end his days living in Rome under self-imposed vows of poverty and chastity. From his birth in 1491, the nobleman looked destined for a life of chivalry, fighting and fun. Loyola’s fate transformed when a bomb shattered his leg at the Battle of Pamplona in 1521. Convalescing at his family castl...
Loyola’s first followers were fellow students at the University of Paris. Though he had reached the Holy Land in 1523, Loyola’s plans to settle there were scuppered when Franciscan missionaries sent him away. Loyola studied in Spain, where he ended up in front of the inquisition after giving out religious advice and preaching to women who fell into...
The Jesuits have become famous for their strong links to Rome, the home of the popes and their own headquarters. However, the first Jesuits had their eyes on Jerusalem when they set out from Paris. It was only when the men found they could not catch a boat to the Holy Land from Venice that they decided to head for Rome to seek direct orders from Po...
Although the Jesuits took on similar work to older religious orders like the Franciscans, they lived in a radically different way. Traditionally, religious orders framed their day around praying together at set hours. The Jesuits abandoned this structure, devoting themselves whole-heartedly to activities like preaching and hearing confessions. They...
Although many think of the Jesuits as an order founded to fight the Protestant Reformation, their core mission was broader: to help souls wherever necessary. This took some Jesuits to the German Lands where many had rejected Catholicism. It took others across oceans and continents. By 1542, Loyola’s former room mate Francisco Xavier was in southern...
By the 17th century the Jesuits had hundreds of schools. Today they run renowned educational institutions across the globe. But the first Jesuits never considered themselves as the ‘schoolmasters of the world’; it was necessity that pushed them into education. With missionaries like José de Ancieta learning Tupi in Brazil and others carefully refut...
The Society soon became known for its erudition. Especially when learned Jesuits like Athanasius Kircher took up endeavours such as astronomy, drama and linguistics. Along with their energy and piety, these pursuits made the Jesuits popular amongst the nobility and royalty, from the Kingdom of France to Mughal India. Many powerful figures sought Je...
Suspicion troubled the order from its very beginnings. Loyola himself was investigated by the Spanish and Roman Inquisitions. Some saw the prayers and self-examinations in his Spiritual Exercises as potentially dangerous mysticism. In countries that had rejected Catholic authority, like England, Jesuits were seen as dangerous traitors who were more...
By the 18th century, suspicion and resentment of the Society became increasingly serious. They were caricatured as deceptive and conniving tricksters who sought nothing less than world domination. As some nation states began to centralise their systems of government, the idea of an influential, international order that answered to Rome became intol...
Traditionally, Jesuits were not supposed to be ambitious. Loyola decried ambition as the ‘origin of all evil’ in religious orders. Over the years talented members of the Society were singled out for promotion by the pope. Some Jesuits got special dispensation to become archbishops and cardinals. In the past, the Jesuits’ enemies dubbed them the bla...
- Jessica Dalton
May 21, 2018 · Jes·u·it / ˈjezhoōit; ˈjez (y)oō- / • n. a member of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic order of priests founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, and others in 1534, to do missionary work. The order was zealous in opposing the Reformation.
The Jesuits in the United States constitute the American branch of the Society of Jesus and are organized into four geographic provinces — East, Central and Southern, Midwest and West — each of which is headed by a provincial superior.
About Us Frequently asked questions about the Society of Jesus Who is a Jesuit? Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus. Currently, almost 17,000 men serve as priests and brothers in ministries around the world. What is the relationship of the Society of Jesus to the Roman Catholic Church? The Society of Jesus is … FAQs Read More »
