Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits (/ˈdʒɛʒuɪts, ˈdʒɛzju-/ JEZH-oo-its, JEZ-ew-;[2] Latin: Iesuitae),[3] is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian ministries, and promote ecumenical dialogue.
This article is about the Society of Jesus, also known as Jesuit Order. For philosophy concerning the teachings of Jesus, see Jesuism. For the band, see Jesuit (band).Abbreviation
SJ
Jesuits
27 September 1540[1]
Order of clerics regular of pontifical right (for men)[1]
Generalate:
Borgo S. Spirito 4, 00195 Prati, Rome, Italy
Worldwide
13,995 (2024)[1]
Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ
- Saint Joseph
- Blessed Virgin Mary (under the title Madonna della Strada)
Missionary, educational, literary works
La Civiltà Cattolica
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.[4][5] The headquarters of the society, its general curia, is in Rome.[6] 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 make profession of "perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience" and "promise a special obedience to the sovereign pontiff in regard to the missions" to the effect that a Jesuit is expected to be directed by the pope "perinde ac cadaver" ("as if he was a lifeless body") and to accept orders to go anywhere in the world, even if required to live in extreme conditions. This was so because 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,[a] to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith, and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine".[8] Jesuits are thus sometimes referred to colloquially as "God's soldiers",[9] "God's marines",[10] or "the Company".[11] The society participated in the Counter-Reformation and, later, in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council.
Jesuit missionaries established missions around the world from the 16th to the 18th century and had both successes and failures in Christianizing the native peoples. The Jesuits have always been controversial within the Catholic Church and have frequently clashed with secular governments and institutions. Beginning in 1759, the Catholic Church expelled Jesuits from most countries in Europe and from European colonies. Pope Clement XIV officially suppressed the order in 1773. In 1814, the Church lifted the suppression.
Governance of the society[edit]
The society is headed by a Superior General with the formal title Praepositus Generalis, Latin for "provost-general", more commonly called Father General. He is elected by the General Congregation for life or until he resigns; he is confirmed by the pope and has absolute authority in running the Society. The current Superior General of the Jesuits is the Venezuelan Arturo Sosa who was elected on 14 October 2016.[159]
The Father General is assisted by "assistants", four of whom are "assistants for provident care" and serve as general advisors and a sort of inner council, and several other regional assistants, each of whom heads an "assistancy", which is either a geographic area (for instance the North American Assistancy) or an area of ministry (for instance higher education). The assistants normally reside with Father General in Rome and along with others form an advisory council to the General. A vicar general and secretary of the society run day-to-day administration. The General is also required to have an admonitor, a confidential advisor whose task is to warn the General honestly and confidentially when he might be acting imprudently or contrary to the church's magisterium. The central staff of the General is known as the Curia.[159]
The society is divided into geographic areas called provinces, each of which is headed by a Provincial Superior, formally called Father Provincial, chosen by the Superior General. He has authority over all Jesuits and ministries in his area, and is assisted by a socius who acts as a sort of secretary and chief of staff. With the approval of the Superior General, the Provincial Superior appoints a novice master and a master of tertians to oversee formation, and rectors of local communities of Jesuits.[160] For better cooperation and apostolic efficacy in each continent, the Jesuit provinces are grouped into six Jesuit Conferences worldwide.
Each Jesuit community within a province is normally headed by a rector who is assisted by a "minister", from the Latin word for "servant", a priest who helps oversee the community's day-to-day needs.[161]
The General Congregation is a meeting of all of the assistants, provincials, and additional representatives who are elected by the professed Jesuits of each province. It meets irregularly and rarely, normally to elect a new superior general and/or to take up some major policy issues for the order. The Superior General meets more regularly with smaller councils composed of just the provincials.[162]
Habit and dress[edit]
Jesuits do not have an official habit. The society's Constitutions gives the following instructions: "The clothing too should have three characteristics: first, it should be proper; second, conformed to the usage of the country of residence; and third, not contradictory to the poverty we profess." (Const. 577)
The traditional Jesuit-style cassock, called a "soutane" is similar to a robe which is wrapped around the body and was tied with a cincture, rather than the customary buttoned front cassock worn by diocesan priests.[177] A tuftless biretta (only diocesan clergy wore tufts) and a ferraiolo (cape) completed the look.[178]
Today, most Jesuits in the United States wear the clerical collar and black clothing of diocesan priests.[179]
Controversies[edit]
Slavery[edit]
Jesuit scholar Andrew Dial has calculated that the Jesuits owned more than 20,000 slaves worldwide in 1760, the great majority of them in the Americas.[180] The Jesuits in some places protected the indigenous people of the Americas from slavers, notably the Guaraní in South America, but in other places they enslaved indigenous people after "just wars" in which indigenous people who resisted European colonization were defeated.
The Jesuits also participated in the Atlantic slave trade, working thousands of African slaves on their large plantations scattered throughout the Americas. Antoine Lavalette, a slave-owning French Jesuit in Martinique, accumulated large debts which he was unable to pay which led to the banning of the Jesuits in France in 1764.
In the United States, tobacco plantations utilizing African-American slave labor in Maryland and other states supported Jesuit institutions such as Georgetown University, from which were infamously sold 272 slaves in 1838.
In the 16th century, Jesuits were also complicit in the Portuguese trade in enslaved East Asians. In other parts of Europe, slaves were probably employed in Jesuit schools and institutions.
The Jesuits justified their ownership of slaves and participation in the slave trade as a means of converting slaves to Catholicism. "Enslaved people...were a captive audience for evangelization."[181][182]
Power-seeking[edit]
The Monita Secreta (Secret Instructions of the Jesuits), published in 1612 and in 1614 in Kraków, is alleged to have been written by Claudio Acquaviva, the fifth general of the society, but was probably written by former Jesuit Jerome Zahorowski. It purports to describe the methods to be adopted by Jesuits for the acquisition of greater power and influence for the society and for the Catholic Church. The Catholic Encyclopedia states the book is a forgery, fabricated to ascribe a sinister reputation to the Society of Jesus.[183]
Christ the King Church in the Ateneo de Naga University campus, Naga City, Philippines
St. John's Church in Creighton University campus, Omaha, Nebraska, US
Holy Name of Jesus Church in the Loyola University New Orleans campus, New Orleans Louisiana US
The Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, is the school church of Marquette University.
St. Francis Xavier Church, a Jesuit parish church across the street from the Rockhurst University campus, Kansas City, Missouri, US
St. Francis Xavier College Church in the Saint Louis University campus, St. Louis, Missouri, US
The Santa Clara University's Mission Church is at the heart of Santa Clara University's historic campus Santa Clara, California, US.
St. Ignatius Church, parish church of the University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, US
the Church of the Gesu, Philadelphia is the school church of St. Joseph's Preparatory School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
