Society of Jesus: the Jesuits

St. Ignatius of Loyola, (1491–1556) was a Spanish theologian and one of the most influential figures in the Catholic Reformation of the !6^th c., founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, in Paris in 1534. One of thirteen children of a family of nobility in northern Spain, as a young man Ignatius found himself intrigued by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of performing great deeds. Serving as a soldier for France, he was gravely wounded in 1521. Recovering from his wound he experienced a ‘conversion’ with God. As he involved himself in the readings of the Lord and saints he found himself filled with genuine happiness and developed desires to perform great acts. Ignatius further concluded that these feelings were clues to God’s own direction for him. With his thoughtful insight, Ignatius became expert in the art of spiritual direction. He wrote his collected insights, prayers, and further religious views in his book, the Spiritual Exercises. Ignatius Loyola further expressed his devotion to God by founding the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. Ignatius conceived the Jesuits as “contemplatives of action.”  The Jesuits was a society within the Roman Catholic Church that was founded by Loyola and further instituted by Pope Paul III. The Jesuit society demanded four vows to the members of their society; poverty, chastity, obedience to Christ, and obedience to the high Pope. The purpose of the Jesuits was the propagation of the Catholic faith.

            With the high threat of Islam spreading across the Mediterranean region, the Jesuits’ first focus was the conversion of Muslims. Followed by the counteracting the spread of Protestantism, they greatly contributed to the Counter–Reformation of the 16^th –17^th c. With their vows of full compliance with the Pope, the Jesuits became feared across Europe. The Jesuits continue to be active in the world today, though the extreme military actions for the Catholic Church have declined their goals of spreading Catholic faith continues to be their primary objective. Jesuits perform their religious actions by means of missionary work and religious education. Their beliefs continue to hold the broad historic teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The followers of Ignatius Loyola follow his spiritual exercises in their daily lives. With the goal of relating their inner personal lives to those of God, they practice separation from their friends and family in order to attend Mass and show their extreme devotion to the Lord.