Emerio de Bonis was a twenty-five-year-old scholastic strongly troubled by temptations against chastity. He had been in the Society for five years and felt overly uncertain about himself. He revealed his state of soul to Ignatius. De Bonis received the following reply from Ignatius, written on his behalf by Juan Alfonso de Polanco. Ignatius calls […]
Ignatius on Chastity (1556) Read More »
Robert Claysson, a native of Bruges, had sent a report to Rome in a rather bombastic style, and Ignatius here reproves him for having done so. His comment that Claysson’s letter could not be sent anywhere else without heavy editing refers to the fact that the reports of Jesuit activities regularly sent to Rome were often
Ignatius on Eloquence (1555) Read More »
Seriously ill, Francesco Mancini came from Sicily to Naples. He wrote to Ignatius, saying that for his own spiritual consolation he judged it better to stay with his Jesuit brethren there than with his family. The superior in Naples, Alfonso Salmerón, had believed that Mancini could not receive the proper treatment at the city’s college
Ignatius on Health (1554) Read More »
More commonly known by its Latin name (Exposcit Debitum), the papal approval of the Formula of 1550 has articulated the purposes of the Society of Jesus since it issuance by Pope Julius III. The formula was based on the Five Chapters of 1539 and of the Formula of 1540. For more on the history, content,
Exposcit Debitum (1550) Read More »
William IV, duke of Bavaria, appealed to Pope Paul III and to Ignatius to send several Jesuits as professors of theology to the University of Ingolstadt, an institution that had fallen into severe decline. Alfonso Salmerón, Claude Jay, and Pierre Canisius were chosen for the task. For them, Ignatius writes the following instruction, urging them
Ignatius on Mission (1549) Read More »
Subsequent to their initial deliberations during Lent in 1539, the eleven men determined their religious order would include a vow of obedience. They offered their shared intentions to enter that organization by signing the following vow of obedience, if, the vow notes, the group “will be confirmed by the pope.” Papal approval for the Society
The First Jesuits’ Vow of Obedience (1539) Read More »
Just before Easter in the spring of 1539, Ignatius and his companions gathered to determine whether or not they should continue to informally collaborate with one another, as they had for some five years. Their deliberations took the form of group discernment, consisting of several days of prayer and discussions. Jean Codure or Pierre Favre later
The Deliberations of Our First Fathers (1539) Read More »
International Symposia on Jesuit Studies are held on an annual basis, providing opportunities for academic exchange within the global community of Jesuit Studies scholars. Each year, the Institute invites some of the presenters to revise their presentations into essays, which are peer reviewed and published, both in print and online in Open Access. The
International Symposia on Jesuit Studies Read More »
L’Istituto Confucio at the Università di Macerata hosts an important, three-day conference on new scholarship and perspectives on Matteo Ricci (1552–1610). “New Perspectives in the Studies on Matteo Ricci” features presentations by 21 scholars from October 21-23, 2015. The event also includes a tour of Ricci’s historical landmarks in Macerata, the birthplace of the noted
October 2015: Conference to Offer “New Perspectives in the Studies on Matteo Ricci” Read More »
Julia Sarreal’s The Guaraní and Their Missions: A Socioeconomic History is now available through Stanford University Press. To examine the thirty Jesuit missions in the Rio de la Plata, Sarreal uses mission account books and other materials to consider the missions’ “work regime” and the Guaraní’s ability to shape the mission economy. Such archival materials, the
June 2014: New Socioeconomic History of the Guaraní Read More »
