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Before the delegates to the 31st General Congregation set out “for the four corners of the world,” Pope Paul VI welcomed the Jesuits to the Sistine Chapel. His remarks urge the delegates “to renew in [their] hearts in an almost palpable and solemn way the sense of the apostolic mandate that characterizes and strengthens your […]

The 31st General Congregation held its first session in the summer of 1965, towards the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. It held a second session a year later, after the council had formally closed, after which time it promulgated its decrees. The congregation’s first decree sought to define and, in the end, to encourage

The delegates of the 31st General Congregation gathered, in part, to select the successor to Jean-Baptiste Janssens as the 28th superior general. In these remarks before the congregation, Pope Paul VI believes that the next general would “take every care to ensure that your harmony be not disrupted by discordant voices, but rather that you

Pope Pius XII delivered the following remarks at an event to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Jesus. The ceremony took place in Rome in the Hall of Benediction on April 27, 1941, the day Greece surrendered to the Nazis. Pius spoke following remarks by Wlodimir (Włodzimierz) Ledóchowski, the superior

Wlodimir (Włodzimierz) Ledóchowski, the superior general of the Jesuits, delivered this address to Pope Pius XII as part of a celebration in Rome’s Hall of Benediction to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Jesus. Also present were people selected to represent the Society “in miniature,” individuals from the Jesuits’ various

In July 1940, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the Society of Jesus, Pope Pius XII issued the following apostolic letter to Wlodimir (Włodzimierz) Ledóchowski. Pius notes to the superior general how the Catholic Church “is deeply indebted to your religious society for its glorious record of service.” The letter chronicles some

Mutio Vitelleschi, born to a noble family in Rome in 1563, entered the Society of the Jesus only after securing permission from Pope Gregory XIII. The Jesuits elected Vitelleschi their sixth superior general in 1615. His generalate saw worldwide expansion in missions and in membership to some 15,000 men but also an increase in the

Francis Borgia, in this letter to the Jesuits in Aquitania, in the southwest of France, provides advice on how best to preserve the spirit of the Society of Jesus. The order’s “rapid growth” reminded Borgia of how “the little grain of mustard,” once “fixing its roots” and “sending forth its branch and steam,” could become

Fluvio Androzzi was already a priest when he made the Spiritual Exercises under the direction of Diego Laínez and entered the Society. Almost immediately, he embarked upon a life of successful ministries. Androzzi was one of the Society’s earliest spiritual writers, and his works, published posthumously, appeared in many editions and translations. In this letter,

Valentín Marín, a young Spanish Jesuit working in Sicily, was known as an excellent preacher despite having a disagreeable voice. His superior greatly praised him for his learning and his holiness. But Marín was constantly beset by scruples. Ignatius, who took a personal interest in the young man’s troubles, had earlier instructed his provincial and