In 1551, Urbano Fernandes, the newly appointed rector of the scholasticate at Coimbra and the successor there of Simão Rodrigues, had proposed a number of questions having to do with the performance of his office. In this letter, Juan Alfonso de Polanco writes on Ignatius’s behalf and sends his understanding of Ignatius’s mind on the […]
Ignatius on Ideal Qualities in Jesuits (1551) Read More »
Because of the continuing threat of the coronavirus and various health and safety restrictions, the 2020 International Symposium was originally delayed to June 2021 before being cancelled in its entirety. Below is the original program for the event as scheduled for June 2020. The Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, together with its co-organizer Brotéria, is very
Pedro Arrupe wrote the following reflections on the importance of Mary and Marian devotion to Ignatius and the Society of Jesus for a book of Jesuit saints and blesseds. The version that appears below was published by Jesuit Sources in a collection of letters and addresses of the superior general. For more sources from Arrupe,
“Marian Devotion in the Society,” Pedro Arrupe (1973) Read More »
Gaspar Loarte published The Exercise of the Christian Life in 1557 (just a year after the death of Ignatius de Loyola) as the Spanish Jesuit served as the rector of a Jesuit college in Genoa. The slim volume provided prayers, meditations, and general advice to Christians who desired to live a more devout life. Exemplifying
On Remedies for the Second Sin of the Flesh, Gluttony (1557) Read More »
Pope Pius XII delivered the following remarks at an event to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Jesus. The ceremony took place in Rome in the Hall of Benediction on April 27, 1941, the day Greece surrendered to the Nazis. Pius spoke following remarks by Wlodimir (Włodzimierz) Ledóchowski, the superior
Quadricentennial Address, Pius XII (1941) Read More »
Mutio Vitelleschi, born to a noble family in Rome in 1563, entered the Society of the Jesus only after securing permission from Pope Gregory XIII. The Jesuits elected Vitelleschi their sixth superior general in 1615. His generalate saw worldwide expansion in missions and in membership to some 15,000 men but also an increase in the
On the Centenary of the Society (1639) Read More »
Along with Francis Xavier, Gaspar Berze (or Barzaeus) was one of the great Jesuit missionaries of the sixteenth century. Before entering the Society, the Dutch Berze had served in the army of Emperor Charles V, lived as a hermit at Montserrat, and worked in the royal treasury of Portugal. With the following letter, Ignatius has
Ignatius on Moderation (1554) Read More »
Ignatius addressed this “Letter of Perfection” to the flourishing scholasticate at Coimbra, in Portugal. Though the scholasticate prospered with vocations and zeal, the latter was at times quite indiscreet. Concerned observers felt that Simão Rodrigues, the Portuguese provincial, was too compliant in allowing the scholastics to become “fools for Christ,” in such manifestations as self-flagellation and
Ignatius on Perfection (1547) Read More »
Brill has published Jesuit Image Theory, edited by Wietse de Boer, Karl A.E. Enenkel and Walter S. Melion. The volume (including 97 color images) looks at “Jesuit investment in images, whether verbal or visual, virtual or actual, pictorial or poetic, rhetorical or exegetical.” Contributions to the volume include: The Jesuit Engagement with the Status and Functions
June 2016: Published Volume on Jesuit Imagery Read More »
