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 »
This document, a chapter from the Part IX of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, articulates the desired qualities in the Jesuits’ superior general. Though the Constitutions were not approved until the first General Congregation of 1558, the first Jesuits elected Ignatius as their superior general in April 1541. Ignatius collaborated with Juan Alfonso
The Kind of Person the Superior General Ought to Be (1558) Read More »
In the following letter, Ignatius offers instructions to how Diego Laínez, Alfonso Salmerón, and Claude Jay, whom he had sent to the Council of Trent at the order of Pope Paul III, were to deal with others there. He advises the three men to “be slow to speak, deliberate and loving” on matters before the
Ignatius on Trent (1546) Read More »
The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus recognized the difficulty in maintaining a unity among Jesuits so dispersed in the world, noting that “the Society cannot be preserved or governed, or consequently, attain the aim it seeks for the greater glory of God unless its members are united among themselves and with their head.” In Part
General Congregations Read More »
The Society of Jesus—much like “all well-organized communities or congregations”—appoints a person “whose proper duty,” according to the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, “is to attend to the universal good.” For the Jesuits in particular, the superior general’s “duty is the good government, preservation, and growth of the whole body of the Society.” (Rather
Barbara Ganson, professor of History and director of Caribbean and Latin American Studies at Florida Atlantic University, starts her Senior Research Fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Jesuit Studies. She will remain in residence during the spring semester to work on a translation and edited volume of Peruvian Jesuit missionary Antonio Ruiz de Montoya’s Conquista
January 2017: Ganson an In-Residence Fellow at the Institute Read More »
New essays are now available in the Jesuit Historiography Online, hosted by Brill Reference. An Open Access resource due to the support by the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College, Jesuit Historiography Online presents essays by experts in their field summarizing key texts, surveying recent scholarship, and suggesting future areas of inquiry.
January 2017: New Essays at Jesuit Historiography Online Read More »
The Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies opens the call for application for fellowships to facilitate the completion and/or publication of academic work related to the Society of Jesus. Applications are now welcomed from scholars in the fields of history, spirituality, and pedagogy, among others. The submission deadline is February 1, 2017. The Institute offers two
December 2016: Call for Fellowship Applications Read More »
The Portal’s editors welcome collaborative partners to provide free online access to the some of the richest content associated with the history, spirituality, educational heritage, and pedagogical approach of the Society of Jesus. The Portal’s editors are very pleased to acknowledge the collaborative assistance they receive from the following institutions: Archivum Romanum Societatis
The Portal’s Collaborators Read More »
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