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The Society of Jesus
Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491, the son of a Basque nobleman. At this time the Middle Ages were coming to a close and Europe was approaching the Renaissance age. Ignatius had dreamed as a young man of achieving fame and fortune as a knight and in an attempt during 1521 to defend the Spanish border fortress of Pamplona against the French, his right leg was shattered by a cannon ball. During his long enforced convalescence, he read the only material available at the time, a small collection of religious books. These books and the isolation of the recovery period brought about a conversion which led to the founding of the Jesuits. Ignatius began to pray, fast, and do penance and, after some time, decided to study for the priesthood.
As a student in Paris he attracted a small group of friends and directed them in prayer and meditation according to his Spiritual Exercises. After further studies, the first Jesuits were ordained to the Catholic priesthood in Venice and offered themselves in service to Pope Paul III. In 1540, Paul III approved the Institute of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was elected General Superior and served in that post until his death in 1556 at the age of 65.
After its founding in 1540, the Society of Jesus grew rapidly and assumed an important role in the renewal of the Catholic Church. Jesuits were educators, scholars, and missionaries throughout the world. By the time of Ignatius's death in 1556, there were about a thousand Jesuits. One century later, there were over fifteen thousand; near the end of the following century, almost twenty-three thousand.
As time passed, because of the high visibility of the Jesuits among religious orders, their strong defense of the papacy, their work in the missions on behalf of the indigenous peoples, their apparent power at royal courts and in the Church as well as because of their own pride and occasional failings in judgment, they aroused the hostility of many lay and clerical adversaries.
In 1773, bowing to heavy pressure from the courts of France, Spain, Portugal, and Naples, Clement XIV issued a document suppressing the Society of Jesus. He noted that he did so to maintain peace and tranquility within the Church. He listed the charges against the Society, but made no judgment about their accuracy, and avoided making any condemnation of the Society itself. Jesuit property was promptly seized by the local authorities. Some Jesuits were imprisoned; some were driven into exile. The superior general of the Society was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo where he died shortly aftwards.
On August 7, 1814, Pope Pius VII, responding to the desires of those who wished the Jesuits to resume work in education and in the foreign missions, restored the Society throughout the world. By the end of the century Jesuit schools and missions were as numerous as before 1773.
Today, the Society of Jesus has nearly twenty-five thousand members world-wide. Its members dedicate themselves to the service of the Church under their superior general, Very Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach. Through its missions, its parishes, and its educational institutions, it lives out a world-affirming commitment to the service of faith and the promotion of justice.
