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The Jesuits Founded on this day, September 27, 1540

I. Development of Religious “Orders” to the Jesuits Monastic -- ordinary and strict varieties (, , Cistercians, etc.) Western descend from , + 547 -- Dominicans (founded 1216) and (founded 1209) Clerks Regular -- Renaissance development of organized groups of priests living together focused on pastoral care of people; they lived together under a common spiritual rule, becoming an effective method to reform local clergy

II Iñigo de Loyola – Ignatius of Loyola (1493-1556) Early life as soldier, sickness, convalescence, period of intense & neurotic religiosity Discovery of spiritual “exercises”, determination to become a priest, study at Paris Formation of a group of colleagues, vows, idea of reaching the Holy Land Eventual arrival in to offer themselves to whatever service the desired granted its existence September 27, 1540 Ignatius hereafter becomes an administrator of an ecclesiastical juggernaut

III Discipline and Flexibility as the marks of the order

•How do they live together? They don’t, necessarily. They travel a lot (at least corporately). •What do Jesuits do? Whatever needs doing or whatever special mission the Pope assigns. •Variety of Jesuit ministries: education of lay people; education of clergy; global missions; work; research; communication; spiritual retreats; writing •How did the Jesuits found schools and universities? (27 in USA) (Joke about Bethlehem)

IV Significant moments

Adherence to social elites, wealth, influence, and eventual suppression of the Order (1773) (My landlady in ; McCann’s Grandmother) Expulsion of Jesuits from France, Spain, Portugal 1757-1770 Revival of Order (1814) and strict adherence to the Papacy Liberalization of the Order in the 1900s and criticism of Vatican (1970s), reined in by Pope (1980s)

V Reformulation of the Jesuits’ Mission, 1975: heightened focus on social justice (Examples: El Salvador, Nicaragua) (Example Cristo Rey Network)

“ . . . The mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement. For reconciliation with God demands the reconciliation of people with one another. . . . In one form or another, this has always been the mission of the Society; but it gains new meaning and urgency in the light of the needs and aspirations of the men and women of our time, and it is in that light that we examine it anew. We are confronted today, in fact, by a whole series of new challenges.”