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Decree 16: “Chastity in the Society of Jesus,” General Congregation 31 (1966)

For the Jesuit delegates at the 31st General Congregation, consecrated chastity was a “gift” from God, “a sign of charity and likewise a stimulus to it.” Those delegates, nevertheless, also issued the following decree to acknowledge how contemporary attitudes and contexts have caused “new problems” on the topic. The decree urges the new superior general […]

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Decree 9: “The Training of Scholastics Especially in Studies,” General Congregation 31 (1966)

Academic formation of young Jesuits proved a popular topic in advance of the 31st General Congregation, as historian John Padberg notes that some 600 postulta (or petitions) were received from across the Society of Jesus (see Jesuit Life & Mission Today (2009), pg. 19–20). The delegates responded with the following decree, which begins with the statement

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Decree 8: “The Spiritual Formation of Jesuits,” General Congregation 31 (1966)

According to historian John Padberg’s historical account of the congregation, Jesuits sent more than 160 postulata (or petitions) on the topic their brethren’s spiritual formation for consideration at the 31st General Congregation (see Jesuit Life & Mission Today (2009), pg. 18–19). That formation, the following decree observes, “is the work of divine grace,” helping Jesuits in

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Decree 3: “The Task of the Society Regarding Atheism,” General Congregation 31 (1966)

Pope John VI opened the 31st General Congregation by noting the “fearful danger of atheism threatening human society.” Through the Jesuit delegates gathered for the congregation, the pontiff gave to the entire Society of Jesus (the “champion of the Church and holy religion in adversity”) a special task: “the charge of making a stout, united

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Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach’s Introductory Discourses for General Congregation 34 (1995)

Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, delivered the following remarks, over three days, to open the Jesuits’ 34th General Congregation. Kolvenbach reminds the delegates that their gathering had its “source and origins in the spiritual experience of Ignatius and his first companions,” that, in the words of Ignatius, theirs was “a

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Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach’s Homily Closing General Congregation 34 (1995)

The 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus came to close on March 22, 1995, having opened 76 days before. The Jesuits’ superior general, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, delivers the following homily at the Church of the Gesù in Rome. For more from the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, please consult this page.  

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Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach’s Homily at St. Peter’s Basilica, General Congregation 33 (1983)

The members of the 33rd General Congregation gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate Mass, with their new superior general offering this homily. For more from the 33rd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, please consult this page.     October 15, 1983   During this Eucharist which the General Congregation is celebrating for the

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John Paul II’s Homily to the Members of the 33rd General Congregation (1983)

At the Mass opening the 33rd General Congregation, Pope John Paul II offered the following homily. The pontiff declares a special interest in the Jesuits’ gathering, as the “General Congregation is an event that is destined also to have some important repercussions in the life of the Church.” He remained at the Jesuits’ Curia (or

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