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The last of five decrees concerning Jesuit formation, the twelfth decree from the 31st General Congregation addressed the practicalities of the ceremonies for a Jesuit’s vows. The delegates, in the following document, leave it to the newly elected superior general to draft “an Ordination for the whole Society” that would allow for “experimentation” at different

As part of their review of the formation of Jesuits, the delegates at the 31st General Congregation considered what norms ought to be in place as a member of the Society of Jesus works towards taking his final vows. These norms took shape in the following decree, which revised existing practices. For more from the

The delegates at the 31st General Congregation reflected on tertianship (or the third probation), not with a desire to eliminate the process but rather to renew and adapt it within the context of the Second Vatican Council. Tertianship is essentially a year of probation, when a Jesuit examines his vocation before taking final vows. In

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

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

The delegates of the 31st General Congregation used their seventh decree to address the matter of temporal adjuators, or brothers, within the Society of Jesus. The delegates were responding both to the declining numbers of brothers over the last several decades but also to postulata (or petitions) that requested both a clarification of the brothers’

In advance of the 31st General Congregation, Jesuits from around the world submitted postulata (or petitions) for perpetual deacons to be allowed in the Society of Jesus. The delegates at the congregation, after considering the matter, approved the following decree. Rather than introducing the permanent deaconate to the Society of Jesus, the decree, first, removes

In their fifth decree, the delegates of the 31st General Congregation addressed what historian John Padberg describes as “one of the most serious and one of the most lengthily treated questions in the Congregation” (see the congregation’s historical preface in Jesuit Life & Mission Today (2009), pg. 16–17). The topic of conversation was grades within the

The delegates at the 31st General Congregation issued the following decree to indicate changes to the Jesuits’ Collection of Decrees, done so with the desire to “provide the juridical principles for the adaptation of our body of laws.” The decree defines the “Institute of the Society” as “both our way of living and working, and

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