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Cover Letter to the Revised Ratio studiorum, Jan Roothaan (1832)

The 20th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, held in 1820, the first following the Jesuits’ restoration, offered an opportunity for the religious order to respond to the system of state-sponsored, or at least state-sanctioned, schools that had emerged since its suppression in 1773. The restored Jesuits faced the challenge of adjusting to the

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General Congregation 35

On February 2, 2006, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach wrote to the members of the Society of Jesus in his position as their father general. He explained that a new general congregation should be convoked in order that his resignation could be accepted and his successor elected. When the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus accepted

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General Congregation 34

The 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus took place in Rome between January 5 and March 22, 1995. The 202 delegates appointed to participate in the gathering did not elect a new father general. Instead, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach convoked the assembly at a time, according to The New York Times, Jesuits were “enjoying a

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General Congregation 33

The 33rd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (September 1–October 25, 1983) was the first in Jesuit history to accept the resignation of a superior general. Pedro Arrupe had been elected superior general 18 years earlier by the delegates at the 31st General Congregation. On August 7, 1981, Arrupe suffered a debilitating stroke following

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Decree 4: “Obedience in the Life of the Society of Jesus,” General Congregation 35 (2008)

The delegates at the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus address the topic of Jesuit obedience in the following decree. They define “obedience” in the context of the vow the members of the Society of Jesus make to the pope as a vow “grounded in the desire to be sent effectively, to serve

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Decree 3: “Challenges to Our Mission Today,” General Congregation 35 (2008)

The third of six decrees promulgated by the delegates at the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus articulated some of the main challenges facing the Jesuits and their works. The decree, appearing below, reaffirms the Society’s mission in the face of challenges, places that mission the new context of the dawn of the

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Decree 1: “With Renewed Vigor and Zeal,” General Congregation 35 (2008)

On February 2, 2006, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, having reached an agreement with Pope Benedict XVI to allow for his resignation as the Jesuits’ superior general, dispatched a letter to the Society of Jesus indicating that “it had become more and more clear that the Society has arrived at a situation…which required a General Congregation.” That gathering—the

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Decree 25: “Powers Granted and Mandates Entrusted by the General Congregation to the Father General,” General Congregation 34 (1995)

In the degree below, the delegates of the 34th General Congregation grant certain powers and responsibilities to their order’s new superior general, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, with those powers mainly concerning the issuance of the congregation’s decrees and recommendations. They also require Kolvenbach “to complete the work on the Complementary Norms and the Notes to the Constitutions

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