Society of Jesus (religious order)

• Motto: Serving the Catholic Church for the greater glory of God
• Formation: 1534
• Founder: St. Ignatius of Loyola

The Society of Jesus is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in 1534 by St. Ignatius of Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. Its members are called Jesuits and the order is often referred to as the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus is composed only of men and is the largest male Catholic religious order. The two purposes of the order are the spiritual growth of its members and the good of all humanity. They follow the vision of Ignatius in seeking to "find God in all things." The order is known for its educational and mission work.

The Jesuits undergo a long training and study period that can last as long as thirteen years. The members swear a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The professed members also swear a vow of obedience to the Pope.

Pope Clement XIV abolished the order in 1773, but Pope Pius VII ordered it restored in 1814. In 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis I and the first Jesuit pope. At that time, there were nineteen thousand Jesuits in 110 countries throughout the world. According to their website, by 2022, the society claimed to have 14,439 Jesuits. Of these, 583 were novices, 2,587 were scholars, 837 were brothers, and 10,432 were priests. Geographically, 3,955 were in South Asia, 1,481 were in Asia Pacific; 1,712 were in Africa; 3,386 were in Europe; 2,046 were in North America; and 1,859 were in Latin America.

History

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish soldier who was wounded in battle. During his recovery, he saw a vision of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus and, after examining his life, became a hermit, living in a cave and helping the sick. He wrote down his religious experiences in what became Spiritual Exercises, a document for guiding people to follow Jesus. In 1534 in Paris, France, he and six young men took vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. When they could not make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem because of war, they went to Rome and offered their services to the pope. Ignatius became a priest in 1537 and in 1539 he created an outline for the organization of his society, which he called the Company of Jesus. The name was changed to the Society of Jesus when Pope Paul III approved its formation in 1540.

The order grew rapidly, devoting itself to scholarship and missionary work. One of the original members, who later became Saint Francis Xavier, went to the Far East, and other Jesuits were in the courts of Japan and China. They set up missions throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. When Ignatius of Loyola died in 1556, one thousand Jesuits were working in Europe and Asia. In 1611, French Jesuits performed the Catholic mass in Maine. It was the first known celebration of the Catholic mass in America.

They also established religious schools and universities. The first Jesuit college in the United States was founded in 1789 and still exists today as Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

The Jesuits were a strong force in the Counter-Reformation and helped to revive the growth of Catholicism as they modernized the church. The success of the Jesuits led to opposition and anger from others. Portugal banned the Jesuits in 1759–61 and Spain and France pressured the Pope to suppress the Order. In 1773, Pope Clement XIV decreed that the Order was abolished. The Society of Jesus continued to exist in Russia, where Catherine the Great opposed the suppression. In 1814, Pope Pius VII restored the order in response to popular demand that the Jesuits be allowed to continue their mission and educational work.

The Jesuits resumed their activities and the order again grew rapidly. In addition to Georgetown, they established Fordham, Saint Louis, and Marquette universities. According to the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities, as of 2018 there were twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States.

In the second decade of the twenty-first century, the order became involved in the sexual abuse scandals affecting organized religion worldwide, including the Catholic Church. Following investigations, the order began releasing lists of names of Jesuit priests believed to have been involved in some type of sexual misconduct in the past. In January 2019, the order released a list of fifty names of priests just in the province of the northeastern United States; as many cases were not reported until later, most of those on the list had died or were no longer employed in schools.

Beliefs & Practices

Members of the Society of Jesus describe themselves as contemplatives in action. They strive to fulfill their mission to serve the Catholic Church for the greater glory of God. They see themselves as companions of Jesus and share their tradition of spirituality and reflection with others in various settings. They believe in a worldwide mission and work for global justice and peace for people of all faiths and cultures. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society, told his members to "find God in all things" and that is what the Jesuits still try to do.

The Society has a hierarchical structure. When Ignatius of Loyola organized the society, he made the head of the order the Superior General, with a General Congregation to govern it. Ignatius was elected the first Superior General and, like all future holders of the office, was entitled to hold the position for life. Assistants to the Superior General have jurisdiction over different regions of the world. The different regions are called provinces, and the number of provinces within a region reflects the number of Jesuits there. The United States has the largest number of Jesuits and had five provinces as of 2023.

There are several steps involved in Jesuit formation. Those in training proceed through the novitiate, during which they learn to pray and take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; studies; regency, during which they work for the first time in a Jesuit ministry; and graduate-level theology. After then becoming ordained and working for several years, they go through tertianship, essentially reaffirming vocation. Jesuits also take a fourth vow to perform any mission asked of them by the pope.

The rules for the Society are unchanged since they were finalized in 1558. Among the rules are they are not to wear a particular kind of clothing such as a habit, and there are to be no penances or fasting. They are not required to regularly attend mass, so they can easily move around in their work, especially in obedience to the Pope’s mission. They are to go wherever the Pope sends them and do whatever he requires of them.

Bibliography

"About Us—The Jesuits." Jesuits, The Society of Jesus, jesuits.org/aboutus. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024.

Doniger, Wendy. Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006.

"The Jesuit Mission: Seeking God in All Things." Georgetown University, 31 July 2023, www.georgetown.edu/news/the-jesuit-mission-seeking-god-in-all-things/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024.

Kaiser, Robert Blair. Inside The Jesuits: How Pope Francis Is Changing the Church and the World. Rowman, 2014.

Martin, James. The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life. HarperOne, 2012.

O’Malley, John W. The Jesuits: A History from Ignatius to the Present. Rowman, 2014.

Rojas, Rick. "50 Jesuits, Including Some from Top-Ranked N.Y. Catholic Schools, Are Named as Abusers." The New York Times, 15 Jan. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/nyregion/catholic-church-sex-abuse-jesuits.html. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024.

"The Society of Jesus in Numbers