I walk by a home that has a football sign in the yard with the words “Jesuit” and “Buteyn” printed on it. I assume Buteyn is the name of the person who is on the football team at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. According to its website, Jesuit Dallas was founded in 1942 as a private Catholic institution for young men under the direction of the Society of Jesus. Located on a 34-acre campus in North Dallas, the school provides a rigorous student-centered Jesuit education to approximately 1,100 students in grades 9-12 with a 9:1 student-teacher ratio. The faculty, of which 64% holds an advanced degree, totals over 130 professionals. During the 2019-20 academic year, Jesuit Dallas granted nearly $2.6 million in financial assistance to 275 students. I am not Catholic, but I believe the Jesuits are considered an intelligent and compassionate order. Let’s find out more about them.
According to Wikipedia, the Society of Jesus is a religious order of the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions with the approval of Pope Paul III in 1540. The members are called Jesuits. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, research and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social ministries and promote ecumenical dialogue.
The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna Della Strada, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is led by a Superior General. The headquarters of the society, its General Curia, is in Rome. The historic curia of Ignatius is now part of the Collegio del Gesù attached to the Church of the Gesù, the Jesuit mother church.
Members of the Society of Jesus are expected to accept orders to go anywhere in the world, where they might be required to live in extreme conditions. This was so because St. Ignatius, its leading founder, was a nobleman who had a military background. Accordingly, the opening lines of the founding document declared that the society was founded for "whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God, to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith, and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine." Jesuits are thus sometimes referred to colloquially as "God's soldiers," "God's marines" or "the Company." The society participated in the Counter-Reformation and, later, in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council.
Foundation
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a Navarre nobleman from the Pyrenees area of northern Spain, founded the society after discerning his spiritual vocation while recovering from a wound sustained in the Battle of Pamplona. He composed the “Spiritual Exercises” to help others follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. In 1534, Ignatius and six other young men, including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, gathered and professed vows of poverty, chastity and later obedience, including a special vow of obedience to the Pope in matters of mission direction and assignment. Ignatius's plan of the order's organization was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 by a bull — a type of public decree, letters patent or charter — containing the "Formula of the Institute."
On 15 August 1534, Ignatius of Loyola — born Íñigo López de Loyola, a Spaniard from the Basque city of Loyola, and six others mostly of Castilian origin — all students at the University of Paris — met in Montmartre outside Paris, in a crypt beneath the church of Saint Denis, now Saint Pierre de Montmartre, to pronounce the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Ignatius' six companions were: Francisco Xavier from Navarre in modern Spain, Alfonso Salmeron, Diego Laínez, Nicolás Bobadilla from Castile in modern Spain, Peter Faber from Savoy and Simão Rodrigues from Portugal. The meeting has been commemorated in the Martyrium of Saint Denis, Montmartre. They called themselves the Compañía de Jesús and also Amigos en El Señor or “Friends in the Lord,” because they felt "they were placed together by Christ." The name "company" had echoes of the military — reflecting perhaps Ignatius' background as captain in the Spanish army — as well as of discipleship, the "companions" of Jesus. The Spanish "company" would be translated into Latin as “societas” like in “socius,” a partner or comrade. From this came "Society of Jesus" by which they would be known more widely.
Religious orders established in the medieval era were named after particular men: Francis of Assisi (Franciscans); Domingo de Guzmán, later canonized as Saint Dominic (Dominicans); and Augustine of Hippo (Augustinians). Ignatius of Loyola and his followers appropriated the name of Jesus for their new order, provoking resentment by other orders who considered it presumptuous. The resentment was recorded by Jesuit José de Acosta of a conversation with the Archbishop of Santo Domingo. In the words of one historian: "The use of the name Jesus gave great offense. Both on the continent and in England, it was denounced as blasphemous; petitions were sent to kings and to civil and ecclesiastical tribunals to have it changed; and even Pope Sixtus V had signed a brief to do away with it." But nothing came of all the opposition; there were already congregations named after the Trinity and as "God's daughters."
In 1537, the seven traveled to Italy to seek papal approval for their order. Pope Paul III gave them a commendation and permitted them to be ordained priests. These initial steps led to the official founding in 1540.
They were ordained in Venice by the bishop of Arbe on June 24. They devoted themselves to preaching and charitable work in Italy. The Italian War of 1535-1538 renewed between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Venice, the Pope and the Ottoman Empire, had rendered any journey to Jerusalem impossible.
Again in 1540, they presented the project to Paul III. After months of dispute, a congregation of cardinals reported favorably upon the constitution presented, and Paul III confirmed the order through the bull “Regimini militantis ecclesiae” or "To the Government of the Church Militant" September 27, 1540. This is the founding document of the Society of Jesus as an official Catholic religious order. Ignatius was chosen as the first Superior General. The papal bull had limited the number of its members to 60. This limitation was removed through the bull “Exposcit debitum” of Julius III in 1550.
Ignatius laid out his original vision for the new order in the "Formula of the Institute of the Society of Jesus," which is "the fundamental charter of the order, of which all subsequent official documents were elaborations and to which they had to conform." He ensured that his formula was contained in two papal bulls signed by Pope Paul III in 1540 and by Pope Julius III in 1550. The formula expressed the nature, spirituality, community life and apostolate of the new religious order. Its famous opening statement echoed Ignatius' military background:
Whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the Cross in our Society, which we desire to be designated by the Name of Jesus, and to serve the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse, under the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth, should, after a solemn vow of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience, keep what follows in mind. He is a member of a Society founded chiefly for this purpose: to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine, by means of public preaching, lectures and any other ministration whatsoever of the Word of God, and further by means of retreats, the education of children and unlettered persons in Christianity, and the spiritual consolation of Christ's faithful through hearing confessions and administering the other sacraments. Moreover, he should show himself ready to reconcile the estranged, compassionately assist and serve those who are in prisons or hospitals, and indeed, to perform any other works of charity, according to what will seem expedient for the glory of God and the common good.
In fulfilling the mission of the "Formula of the Institute of the Society", the first Jesuits concentrated on a few key activities. First, they founded schools throughout Europe. Jesuit teachers were trained in both classical studies and theology, and their schools reflected this. Second, they sent out missionaries across the globe to evangelize those peoples who had not yet heard the gospel, founding missions in widely diverse regions such as modern-day Paraguay; Japan; Ontario, Canada; and Ethiopia. One of the original seven arrived in India in 1541. Finally, though not initially formed for the purpose, they aimed to stop Protestantism from spreading and to preserve communion with Rome and the successor of Saint Peter. The zeal of the Jesuits overcame the movement toward Protestantism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and southern Germany.
Ignatius wrote the Jesuit “Constitutions,” adopted in 1553, which created a centralized organization and stressed acceptance of any mission to which the Pope might call them. His main principle became the unofficial Jesuit motto: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam or "For the greater glory of God." This phrase is designed to reflect the idea that any work that is not evil can be meritorious for the spiritual life, if it is performed with this intention — even things normally considered of little importance.
The Society of Jesus is classified among institutes as a mendicant order of clerks regular i.e., a body of priests organized for apostolic work following a religious rule and relying on alms or donations for support.
The term “Jesuit” — of 15th-century origin, meaning “one who used too frequently or appropriated the name of Jesus” — was first applied to the society in reproach (1544–1552). The term was never used by Ignatius of Loyola, but over time, members and friends of the society adopted the name with a positive meaning.
Early works
The Jesuits were founded just before the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ensuing Counter-Reformation that would introduce reforms within the Catholic Church, and so counter the Protestant Reformation throughout Catholic Europe.
Ignatius and the early Jesuits did recognize, though, that the hierarchical church was in dire need of reform. Some of their greatest struggles were against corruption, venality and spiritual lassitude within the Catholic Church. Ignatius insisted on a high level of academic preparation for the clergy in contrast to the relatively poor education of much of the clergy of his time. And the Jesuit vow against "ambitioning prelacies" can be seen as an effort to counteract another problem evidenced in the preceding century.
Ignatius and the Jesuits who followed him believed that the reform of the church had to begin with the conversion of an individual's heart. One of the main tools the Jesuits have used to bring about this conversion is the Ignatian retreat, called the Spiritual Exercises. During a four-week period of silence, individuals undergo a series of directed meditations on the purpose of life and contemplations on the life of Christ. They meet regularly with a spiritual director who guides their choice of exercises and helps them to develop a more discerning love for Christ.
The retreat follows a "Purgative-Illuminative-Unitive" pattern in the tradition of the spirituality of John Cassian and the Desert Fathers, early Christian hermits, ascetics and monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD. Ignatius' innovation was to make this style of contemplative mysticism available to all people in active life. Further, he used it as a means of rebuilding the spiritual life of the church. The Exercises became both the basis for the training of Jesuits and one of the essential ministries of the order: giving the exercises to others in what became known as "retreats."
The Jesuits' contributions to the late Renaissance were significant in their roles both as a missionary order and as the first religious order to operate colleges and universities as a principal and distinct ministry. By the time of Ignatius' death in 1556, the Jesuits were already operating a network of 74 colleges on three continents. A precursor to liberal education, the Jesuit plan of studies incorporated the classical teachings of Renaissance humanism into the scholastic structure of Catholic thought.
In addition to the teachings of faith, the Jesuit “Ratio Studiorum” in 1599 would standardize the study of Latin, Greek, classical literature, poetry and philosophy, as well as non-European languages, sciences and the arts. Furthermore, Jesuit schools encouraged the study of vernacular literature and rhetoric, and thereby became important centers for the training of lawyers and public officials.
The Jesuit schools played an important part in winning back to Catholicism a number of European countries which had for a time been predominantly Protestant, notably Poland and Lithuania. Today, Jesuit colleges and universities are located in over 100 nations around the world. Under the notion that God can be encountered through created things and especially art, they encouraged the use of ceremony and decoration in Catholic ritual and devotion. Perhaps as a result of this appreciation for art, coupled with their spiritual practice of "finding God in all things," many early Jesuits distinguished themselves in the visual and performing arts as well as in music. The theater was a form of expression especially prominent in Jesuit schools.
Jesuit priests often acted as confessors to kings during the early modern period. They were an important force in the Counter-Reformation and in the Catholic missions, in part because their relatively loose structure — without the requirements of living and celebration of the Liturgy of Hours in common — allowed them to be flexible and meet diverse needs arising at the time.
Expansion
After much training and experience in theology, Jesuits went across the globe in search of converts to Christianity. Despite their dedication, they had little success in Asia, except in the Philippines. For instance, early missions in Japan resulted in the government granting the Jesuits the feudal fiefdom of Nagasaki in 1580. This was removed in 1587 due to fears over their growing influence. Jesuits did, however, have much success in Latin America. Their ascendancy in societies in the Americas accelerated during the 17th century, wherein Jesuits created new missions in Peru, Colombia and Bolivia; as early as 1603, there were 345 Jesuit priests in Mexico alone.
Francis Xavier, one of the original companions of Loyola, arrived in Goa, in Portuguese India, in 1541 to consider evangelical service in the Indies. In a 1545 letter to John III of Portugal, he requested an Inquisition to be installed in Goa. He died in China after a decade of evangelism in Southern India. In Goa, the Inquisition also prosecuted violators of prohibitions against the observance of Hindu or Muslim rites or festivals, or interfered with Portuguese attempts to convert non-Christians to Catholicism. The Inquisition was the judicial system over Indian Catholics, Hindus and of Portuguese settlers from Europe, mostly new Christians and Jews. The Inquisition laws made reconversion to Hinduism, Islam and Judaism and the use of the Konkani language a criminal offense. The Inquisition was also a method of confiscating property and enriching the Inquisitors. Additionally, Hindu children whose father had died were required to be handed over to the Jesuits for conversion to Christianity. As a result of such oppression, Hindus — and later Christians and Muslims — fled Goa in large numbers to the surrounding regions that were not in the control of the Jesuits and Portuguese India.
The Portuguese Jesuit António de Andrade founded a mission in Western Tibet in 1624. Two Jesuit missionaries, Johann Grueber and Albert Dorville, reached Lhasa, in Tibet, in 1661. The Italian Jesuit Ippolito Desideri established a new Jesuit mission in Lhasa and Central Tibet from 1716–21 and gained an exceptional mastery of Tibetan language and culture, writing a long and very detailed account of the country and its religion as well as treatises in Tibetan that attempted to refute key Buddhist ideas and establish the truth of Catholic Christianity.
Jesuit missions in America became controversial in Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal where they were seen as interfering with the proper colonial enterprises of the royal governments. The Jesuits were often the only force standing between the Native Americans and slavery. Together throughout South America but especially in present-day Brazil and Paraguay, they formed Christian Native American city-states, called "reductions." These were societies set up according to an idealized theocratic model. The efforts of Jesuits like Antonio Ruiz de Montoya to protect the natives from enslavement by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers would contribute to the call for the society's suppression. Jesuit priests such as Manuel da Nóbrega and José de Anchieta founded several towns in Brazil in the 16th century, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and were very influential in the pacification, religious conversion and education of Indian nations. They also built schools, organized people into villages and created a writing system for the local languages of Brazil. José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega were the first Jesuits that Ignacio de Loyola sent to America.
Jesuit scholars working in foreign missions were very dedicated in studying the local languages and strove to produce Latinized grammars and dictionaries. This included: Japanese; Vietnamese (Portuguese missionaries created the Vietnamese alphabet, which was later formalized by Avignon missionary Alexandre de Rhodes with his 1651 trilingual dictionary); Tupi (the main language of Brazil); and the pioneering study of Sanskrit in the West by Jean François Pons in the 1740s.
Under Portuguese royal patronage, Jesuits thrived in Goa and until 1759 successfully expanded their activities to education and health care. In 1594 they founded the first Roman-style academic institution in the East, St. Paul Jesuit College in Macau, China. Founded by Alessandro Valignano, it had a great influence on the learning of Eastern languages — Chinese and Japanese — and culture by missionary Jesuits, becoming home to the first western sinologists such as Matteo Ricci. Jesuit efforts in Goa were interrupted by the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portuguese territories in 1759 by the powerful Marquis of Pombal, Secretary of State in Portugal.
Jesuit missionaries were active among indigenous peoples in New France in North America, many of them compiling dictionaries or glossaries of the First Nations and Native American languages they had learned. For instance, before his death in 1708, Jacques Gravier, vicar general of the Illinois Mission in the Mississippi River valley, compiled a Kaskaskia Illinois–French dictionary, considered the most extensive among works of the missionaries. Extensive documentation was left in the form of “The Jesuit Relations,” published annually from 1632 until 1673.
Jesuits in the United States
Pierre-Jean de Smet was a Belgian Jesuit active in missionary work among the Plains Indians in the mid-19th century. His extensive travels as a missionary were said to total 180,000 miles. He was known as the "Friend of Sitting Bull" because he persuaded the Sioux war chief to participate in negotiations with the United States government for the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.
Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson (1786–1864) was sent by the Jesuits from France to the United States in 1816–1826. He served in several parishes and colleges in the Maryland-Pennsylvania area, the center of Catholicism in the new nation. He was not a success as the head of Georgetown College, but otherwise was highly energetic and generally successful. In 1826 he was recalled to Rome, where he became effectively in charge of all Jesuits in the United States, as the advisor on American affairs to the head of the Society. He handled fundraising, appointments and setting general policies.
The American Jesuits were restored in 1804, and intellectually reflected the English Enlightenment, emphasizing reasonableness of faith, the right of individual conscience, private devotion and active participation in the political life of the republic. In Europe, by contract, the Jesuits were restored in 1814, as part of the Bourbon reaction against the French Revolution. The restored order "resisted intellectual innovation, distrusted Republicanism, championed papal primacy, clung to the throne/altar alliance and promoted a Baroque piety that was 'warm, emotional, colorful and ardent.'" The European and American models were incompatible, and a flood of European Jesuits overwhelmed the new nation and established its conservative policies. In 1864, they wholeheartedly adopted the "Syllabus of Errors" an encyclical from Pope Pius IX that named 80 specific modern liberal ideas that Catholics were forbidden to teach or believe in. The Jesuits were quite successful in establishing staffing, funding and enrolling students for a growing network of secondary and collegiate schools. As the Irish and German ethnic middle classes became better established, they sent their boys off to Jesuit schools. The main goals of the Jesuit education were to inculcate piety, loyalty to the church and strict adherence to the rules. The chief intellectual pursuit was Thomistic philosophy. Catholic students were not allowed to attend lectures given by non-Catholics. As late as the 1950s, Catholic writers such as John Tracy Ellis were bemoaning the intellectual weakness of the Catholic community.
In the late 19th century, the reform element emerged among Catholics led by Archbishop John Ireland, that was strongly opposed by conservative elements, led by the Jesuits. One battle involved creation of the Catholic University of America, in Washington, which would compete directly with the nearby Jesuit school Georgetown University. The dispute lasted for decades and weakened both schools.
In 2013, Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became Pope Francis. Before he became pope, he was appointed bishop when he was in "virtual estrangement from the Jesuits" since he was seen as "an enemy of liberation theology" and viewed by others as "still far too orthodox." He was criticized for colluding with the Argentine junta, while biographers characterized him as working to save the lives of other Jesuits. After his papal election, the Superior General of the Jesuits Adolfo Nicolás praised Pope Francis as a "brother among brothers."
On October 2, 2016, General Congregation 36 convened in Rome, convoked by Superior General Adolfo Nicolás, who had announced his intention to resign at age 80. On October 14, the 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus elected Arturo Sosa, a Venezuelan, as its 31st Superior General.
The General Congregation of Jesuits who elected Arturo Sosa in 2016 asked him to bring to completion the process of discerning Jesuit priorities for the time ahead. Sosa devised a plan that enlisted all Jesuits and their lay collaborators in the process of discernment over a 16-month period. Then in February 2019 he presented the results of the discernment, a list of four priorities for Jesuit ministries for the next 10 years.
1. To show the way to God through discernment and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola.
2. To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.
3. To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future.
4. To collaborate in the care of our Common Home.
Pope Francis gave his approval to these priorities, saying that they are in harmony with the Church's present priorities and with the programmatic letter of his pontificate, “Evangelii gaudium.”
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