The Jesuit Online Bibliography is a free, collaborative, multilingual, and fully searchable database of bibliographic records for scholarship in Jesuit Studies produced in the 21st century. This project provides the citations, abstracts, subject categories, and direct links for more than 16,000 books, book chapters, journal articles, book reviews, dissertations, conference papers, and other scholarly works related to the study of Jesuits and the Society of Jesus.
The editorial oversight of the Jesuit Online Bibliography is a collaborative effort between the three founding Jesuit institutions — the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, the Jesuitica Project at KU Leuven, and the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College.
Voluntary contributors regularly submit records, and individual scholars, publishers, and librarians are encouraged to contribute as well. Users have the option to create a free account to save searches and to bookmark results. By becoming a contributor, a user can directly upload records for the project’s editors to review and publish.
Thanks to the project’s more than 30 additional institutional partners, this resource is available in Open Access. A full listing and more information about those partners appear below.
Founding Institutions
Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI)
ARSI is located on the grounds of the Jesuit General Curia in Rome. It oversees the archives of the central government for the Society of Jesus. ARSI also has a publishing division, Institutum Historicum Societatis Iesu (IHSI). Founded in 1930, the IHSI has several book series and a biennial, peer-reviewed journal, the Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu.
Visit ARSI at http://www.sjweb.info/arsi/
Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies
Founded at Boston College in 2014, the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies seeks to deepen understanding and appreciation of the history, spirituality, educational heritage, and pedagogical approach of the Society of Jesus through courses, workshops, publications, and scholarly symposia. It offers online courses, operates Jesuit Sources, hosts in-residence fellows, and partners with institutions on a number of digital projects whose contents are aggregated into the Portal to Jesuit Studies.
Visit the Institute at https://www.bc.edu/iajs/
Jesuitica
The Jesuitica Project is a collaborative initiative from the University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium) and the Jesuit Region of European Low Countries, the former provinces of the Netherlands and North Belgium (Flanders). Its main goal is to stimulate research into the history and spirituality of the Jesuits by making the rich collections of Jesuit books in the Maurits Sabbe Library accessible and by hosting www.jesuitica.be, a website that offers a virtual portal with digital tools for the research community.
Subscribe to the project’s weekly email list — with announcements of new records and other news — here:https://www.jesuitica.be/mailinglist/subscribe/.
Visit the Project at www.jesuitica.be
Institutional Partners
Archiv der Zentraleuropäischen Provinz der Jesuiten
In 2021, the archives of the Austrian, German, Swiss, and Lithuanian-Latvian Jesuit provinces will merge to form the archive of the Central European Province of the Society of Jesus. In addition, the individual archives are developing digital or digitized documents, which users can already search online.
Please learn more about the digitization projects of these archives at: http://provinzarchiv.jesuiten.org/
The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada / Archives des Jésuites au Canada
Jesuits have been active in Canada in education, intellectual ministry, parish ministry, Spiritual Exercises ministry and work for social justice from 1611 to 1809 and from 1842 until the present day. The Archive of the Jesuits in Canada constitutes the living memory of their apostolic activity and personal lives. Founded in 1848 at Collège Ste-Marie in Montreal, it holds a documents dating from the French Regime in North America, however, the bulk of the archival holdings were created in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Please learn more about the archive at: http://archivesjesuites.ca/en/
Archives Jésuites en France
Located in Paris and Louvain, the Jesuit archives of France collect, classify, preserve, communicate and enhance the archives of the French-speaking Western European Province (Province d’Europe Occidentale Francophone). The collection reflects Jesuit activities in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, from the 17th century to the present.
Please learn more about the archive at: https://www.jesuites.com/contact/bureaux-archives-jesuites/
Archives of the Philippine Province
The Archives of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus is a private religious archives governed by the Catholic Church’s Canon Law and the internal laws and guidelines of the Society of Jesus. It is intended primarily for the internal use of the governance of the Philippine Jesuits. The Archives, located in Loyola House of Studies, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City and under the care of the Province Archivist, are the historical archives (documents of 50 years or older) of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus.
Please learn more about the archive at: https://www.phjesuits.org/portal/the-jesuits/jesuit-archives/
Archives of the Society of Jesus, Australia
The first Jesuits–Austrians Fr. Aloysius Kranewitter S.J. and Fr. Maximilian Klinkowstroem SJ–arrived in Adelaide in 1848. They arrived in Adelaide in 1848. More a century later, in 1950, the Australian Province was formally established. The Jesuit archive is responsible for the institutional memory of the Society of Jesus and its works in Australia.
Please learn more about the province at: https://jesuit.org.au/
Archivio Storico, Provincia Euro-Mediterranea della Compagnia di Gesù
Located near the Residenza del Gesù in Rome, the archive for the Euro-Mediterranea Province of the Society of Jesus preserves the historical documentation of Jesuits and their works throughout Italy and its former provinces, as well as those in modern-day Albania, Malta, and Romania. In close proximity to the archive is the library of the former Roman province, a collected dedicated to texts written by or about the Society of Jesus and their works.
Please learn more about the archive at: https://archiviostorico.gesuiti.it/
Archivo de la Provincia de Chile
The archive of the Chilean Province of the Society of Jesus protects and shares, with those interested in historical memory, the documentation that testifies to the long history of the Jesuits in the national territory. The archive keeps historical documents related to the various Jesuit works, such as in churches, colleges and institutions of the order. The oldest documents date from the 17th century and include photographs from the mid-19th century onwards.
Please learn more about the archive at: https://www.jesuitas.cl/la-compania-de-jesus/archivo-de-la-provincia/
Archivo de la Provincia del Perú
The Historical Archive of the Jesuit Province of Peru collects all documents, manuscripts, typed, printed, digital, in formats corresponding to the documentation of the administration of the Society of Jesus in the region as well as the personal and private documentation of deceased Jesuits between the 19th and 21st centuries. The objective of this documentary collection is to provide inputs for specialized research in the field of ecclesial, social, religious and cultural history in the Peruvian context.
Please learn more about the archive at: http://archivo.jesuitas.pe/
Archivo España Compañía de Jesús
Begun in the 2010s, the integration of the former Spanish provinces into a single province necessitated a new way to collect and house different archival collections. The curia in Madrid holds the so-called living archives (people, communities, institutions and active affairs) necessary for the government of the Society of Jesus. Located outside of Madrid, the Archivo España Compañía de Jesús en Alcalá de Henares is the primary historical archive of the Jesuits’ Spanish province. Two other historical archives are located in Barcelona and Loyola.
Please learn more about the archive at: https://jesuitas.es/es/archivo-historico
Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities, Loyola University Chicago
The Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities is a collaborative multidisciplinary research center at Loyola University Chicago. It supports research across the humanities, as well as in the arts, communication, computer science, social sciences, and University Libraries. The Center also sponsors conferences, lectures, and workshops.
Please learn more about the center at: https://www.luc.edu/ctsdh/
Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University
Founded in 2008, the Centre for Catholic Studies represents a creative partnership between academy and church: a center within the pluralist, public academy for critically constructive Catholic studies of the highest academic standing. As the UK’s first permanent center devoted to pioneering world-class research and teaching in Catholic theology in the public academy, it collaborates with other organizations to produce future leaders, foster talent, and foment Catholic scholarship locally and globally by supporting scholarly research projects and publications, alongside holding research seminars and lectures.
Please learn more about the center at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/theology.religion/ccs/
Centre Sèvres
Centre Sèvres, opened in 1974 in Paris, is an academic institution specializing in philosophical and theological study and research while engaging with ethical, cultural and spiritual challenges of the contemporary world. It offers degrees (bachelor, master, doctorate) recognized by the French Republic, and the center’s courses, inspired by the Jesuit educational tradition, are often adapted pedagogically for adults, anxious to integrate reflection and personal development. It hosts conferences and symposia throughout to echo the themes discussed throughout the year as well as major current topics.
To learn more about this center at: https://centresevres.com/
Centro Cultural Brotéria
In 2019, the Portuguese Province of the Society of Jesus will open a new cultural center in Lisbon. The center builds on the reputation of Brotéria, a Portuguese journal founded in 1902 with series dedicated to the sciences and culture, and will possess a library of some 160,000 titles, largely focused on Jesuit history from the 17th and 18th centuries. The library will be open to the public along with the center’s art gallery, bookstore, restaurant, and conference space, in which the center will host courses, seminars, and workshops.
To learn more about this center, please visit: http://www.broteria.pt/
Conimbricenses.org
The Conimbricenses.org project aims to study the unique philosophical tradition of the University of Coimbra, one closely related to the Society of Jesus and one with a global impact for centuries. Launched online in 2018 by the University of Coimbra’s Instituto de Estudos Filosóficos, this database gives access to a large collection of information, updated bibliographies, and direct links to the digital version of the most important documents related to Coimbra.
Please learn more about this digital project at: http://www.conimbricenses.org/
Cushwa Center, University of Notre Dame
The Charles and Margaret Hall Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at Notre Dame was founded in 1975. Its seminars, conferences, and research projects, many of which produce scholarly volumes or popular educational publications, engage a national body of historians and colleagues from theology, women’s studies, sociology, religious studies, American studies and English.
Please learn more about the center at: https://cushwa.nd.edu/
European Jesuit Libraries Provenance Project
This European Jesuit Libraries Provenance Project presents the largest census of books owned by European Jesuit institutions from the 1540s until the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773. The project includes both texts currently held in libraries as well as information from pre-suppression inventories. It is an ongoing project directed by Kathleen Comerford of Georgia Southern University.
Please learn more about this digital project at: https://www.jesuit-libraries.com/
Irish Jesuit Archives
The Irish Jesuit Archives contains the records of the Jesuits in Ireland from 1575 onwards. The archive’s primary role is to preserve and protect the memory of Irish Jesuits, offering a panorama of Jesuit life, work and works in Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong, and Zambia. The collections exist in a wide variety of formats: paper records, photographs, microfilm, film, tape recordings, and digitally born records.
Please learn more about the archives at: http://www.jesuitarchives.ie/
Jesuit Archives & Research Center
In 2017, the Jesuit Archives: Central United States relocated to a new facility in St. Louis and took a new name to reflect its collections’ wider geographic coverage and its mission to be a destination for researchers from around the world. The Jesuit Archives & Research Center preserves records of fourteen past and current administrative provinces of the Society of Jesus in the United States, including those of Buffalo, California, Central and Southern, Chicago, Chicago-Detroit, Detroit, Midwest, Missouri, New England, New Orleans, New York, Northeast, Oregon, and Wisconsin. The archives also houses the records of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
Please learn more about the archive at: http://jesuitarchives.org/
Jesuit Centre for Catholic Studies, University of Manitoba
The Jesuit Centre for Catholic Studies is a teaching, research, and service facility funded and operated as a joint initiative between St. Paul’s College and the Jesuits in English Canada. It addresses issues related to the Catholic and Jesuit identity of St. Paul’s College and its connection to fields such as theology, philosophy, education, and the liberal arts. Working in collaboration with others as an ecumenical and interfaith project, the center facilitates and sponsors publications, workshops, and research directly related to the worldview of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Please learn more about the center at: https://umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/jesuit_centre/index.html
Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa
An institute geared to preserving memory and promoting historical knowledge, the Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa started in 2010 with the encouragement of the Superior General Adolfo Nicholás, S.J., to study the Jesuits’ largely unexamined evangelization of Africa. Further deliberations pointed to the need for such a study to be carried out within a broader social, political, cultural and religious context. The institute’s vision expanded to offer a cost-effective environment for ground-breaking research on the religious histories, cultures, and traditions of the people of Africa and Madagascar.
Please learn more about the institute at: https://www.jhia.ac.ke/
Jesuits in Britain Archives
Held in London, the Archives of the British Province of the Society of Jesus collects, preserves and makes available records concerning the Jesuits in Britain. The collection contains papers relating to the administration of the British Province by the Provincial Curia as well as those of deceased members of the Province. There are also records of Jesuit communities and of Province works as well as relating to the overseas missionary work of the Province and to the canonisation and beatification processes for the recusant martyrs of England and Wales. The Archives include also a specialist library. Further archival holdings can be found at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, and Campion Hall, Oxford, and there are also small scale local collections throughout the Province.
Please learn more about the institute at: http://www.jesuit.org.uk/archives-jesuits-britain
John J. Burns Library, Boston College
Located in the original Bapst Library building on Boston College’s Chestnut Hill campus, the John J. Burns Library offers students, scholars, and the general public opportunities to engage with rare books, special collections, and archives. Among the many collected related to American Catholicism is the “Liturgy and Life” collection, documenting the liturgical movement in the American Catholic Church from 1925 to Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) reforms. The Specials Collections also has a particular strong Jesuitica collection, consisting of nearly 10,000 titles. Burns Library has digitized more than 1,000 of these titles.
Please learn more about the library at: https://libguides.bc.edu/burns
KADOC-KU Leuven
KADOC–Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society–is an interfaculty center of Leuven University, serving as one of the leading cultural archives and heritage libraries in Belgium. KADOC manages a rich and diverse collection of material and immaterial heritage that documents the relationship between religion, culture and society since 1750 in a Belgian and international context. It valorizes its collection, with a length of more than 33 kilometers, in international and interdisciplinary research as well as in public initiatives with partners in and beyond academia. It preserves and discloses the modern archives of the Jesuit provinces in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Please learn more about the center at: https://kadoc.kuleuven.be/
Seminar on Jesuit Spirituality
The Seminar on Jesuit Spirituality was founded in 1969 by George Ganss, S.J., for the education and edification of Jesuits. With a membership appointed by their provinces in the United States, the seminar continues to examine the spiritual doctrine and practice of the Society of Jesus through scholarly essays that largely appear in Studies in the Spirituality of the Jesuits, a quarterly publication available in Open Access at JesuitOnlineLibrary.com.
Please learn more about the seminar at: https://jesuitportal.bc.edu/publications/studies/
Société des Bollandistes
The Bollandist Society is a Jesuit research institute dedicated to the critical study of Greek, Latin, Oriental, and vernacular hagiographic literature as well as to the history of the saints and their cults. Founded in the early 17th century, this society is one of the oldest scientific organizations in the world. Originally an exclusively Jesuit association of scholars, philologists, and historians, the Bollandists are also their own publishers. Although initially known for their Acta Sanctorum (1643-1940), today they publish a scholarly journal (Analecta Bollandiana), a series of monographs and research instruments (Subsidia Hagiographica), and the Tabularium Hagiographicum, a series dedicated to the correspondence and archives of famous hagiographers.
Please learn more about the society at: https://www.bollandistes.org/
Société internationale d’études jésuites
The Société internationale d’études jésuites is an international scientific organization of researchers from many areas: social and cultural history of the modern world, history of science and knowledge, history of theology and philosophy, history of education, educational sciences, political sciences, economic sciences, history of geography, architecture, and visual arts. These scholars share a common goal: the production of critical knowledge on the subject of the Society of Jesus and all the aspects of this order in the course of a 450-year-old history throughout the world.
Please learn more about the society at: http://www.siejesuitas.org/
Special Collections, Loyola University Chicago
The Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections collects, preserves, organizes, describes, and makes available records of enduring historical value, including those of the university, several Catholic organizations, and individual Jesuits. Special Collections is also the home of the university’s Rare Book Collection, which is particularly strong in the areas of Jesuitica, American, and British history, literature, drama, religion, and theology. Of particular note is the Edward A. Cudahy Jesuitica collection.
Please learn more about the special collections at: https://www.luc.edu/archives/
Special Collections, Saint Louis University
Special Collections at Saint Louis University is a center for original research and learning based on primary sources. Through its Rare Books unit or Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library, its offers a laboratory for the study of texts and images—both manuscript and print—in their original historical contexts, whether it is a fifteenth-century manuscript copy of the poetry of Petrarch or a nineteenth-century printed edition of Mark Twain. Our Vatican Film Library houses over 37,000 microfilmed copies of medieval manuscripts from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and is a unique resource for research.
Please learn more about the special collections at: http://lib.slu.edu/special-collections/index.php
Woodstock Theological Library
The Woodstock Theological Library is one of the oldest and most notable Catholic theological libraries in the United States. Founded in 1869 at Woodstock College (outside of Baltimore), it moved to New York City in 1969. With the 1974 closure of Woodstock College, the library moved to Georgetown University to become the research tool for the Woodstock Theological Center. The collection contains approximately 190,000 circulating volumes, 700 periodical titles as well as a reference collection. It is especially strong in the areas of biblical studies, spirituality, church history, the Jesuits, liturgy, and the social aspects of Christianity.
Please learn more about the library at: https://www.library.georgetown.edu/woodstock
Xavier Centre of Historical Research
The Xavier Centre is designed to serve as a base for scholarly research in the history and cultural heritage of India, with particular emphasis on contemporary cultural and social issues affecting the State of Goa. Through the specially constructed building (1983), the center seeks to promote a forum for exchange of ideas, information and expertise for visitors and seeks association with like-minded groups and individuals for promotion of these objectives.
Please learn more about the center at: https://www.facebook.com/xchr.goa/