The Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignacio de Loyola and fellow students at the Sorbonne in Paris. The document sent to Pope Paul III in 1539 seeking recognition and approval of the Society sets out its four principal vows: poverty, chastity, obedience and a special vow of obedience to the Pope.

Following the Protestant Schism, Pope Paul III convened the Council of Trent to reform the Catholic Church. This was the start of the so-called Counter Reformation in which the Society of Jesus played a key role. The vow of obedience to the Pope, at a time when his power was being questioned, contributed to the rapid ascent of the Jesuits in the Catholic world. The new order grew rapidly and focused its efforts on education with the idea of creating a new elite in opposition to Protestant influence and to spread Catholicism around the world. By 1640 it had more than 500 higher education centres spread across Europe. Approximately a century later this number had risen to 650. Furthermore, the order enjoyed complete or partial control over 24 universities. They also establish more than 200 seminaries and study houses for members of the order. The Jesuits were also very successful missionaries. Francisco de Javier from Navarra, later made a saint, as was the founder and other members of the order, established missions in India and Japan.  The Society of Jesus later expanded into the Chinese interior, and along the coast of Africa and America.

During the 18th century the Society of Jesus and its direct relationship with the Holy See clashed with the efforts of Enlightenment governments to increase royal power. Attempts at regicide, inciting popular uprisings, and refusing to obey royal authority were among the arguments used to expel the Society of Jesus. Portugal was the first country to expel Jesuits from their country and their colonies in 1759, followed by France in 1764 and Spain in 1767. Thus began the struggle against the Society, which came to a head when it was banned by decree by Pope Clemente XIV in 1773. Thanks to the efforts of Father Pignatelli, who established links from Italy with the Jesuit community in Russia (where they had taken refuge) in 1814 Pope Pius VII reinstated the Society.

Ignacio de Loyola’s educational goal was for the complete development of the person through  an interdisciplinary approach to human knowledge involving all of the human faculties of the senses, intelligence, emotion, sexuality, will and personality as well as the ethical and religious dimension, all in the service of the community.

In spite of its universality and the prestige achieved by many of its members, and long before it faced the enmity of 18th-century governments, the Society of Jesus did not find it easy to establish itself in the Basque capitals. In 1619 the Society was invited to open a college in Donostia. But the Jesuits were rejected, as much within the ecclesiastical circles that ran the main parish churches as among the convents. Nor was the town council always on its side. Not even the canonization of Ignacio at the Loyola in 1622 won the Jesuits the support of their rivals. They could count on the support of certain important families and the Bishop of Pamplona, who praised the work of the Jesuits in Donostia, given the high number of foreign heretics resident there and the lack of resources or vocation of other priests and orders in the city. After years of judicial confrontation and physical attacks, in 1627 the order established a base in the city. However, they only remained in the city until their general expulsion under Carlos III in 1767. Their headquarters were converted into a hospital and later a prison and a military barracks. Today it is the site of the Plaza de la Trinidad.

Further information here: http://www.santuariodeloyola.org/