Pedro Arrupe, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, spoke before the Episcopal Synod held in Vatican City in 1974. In the following remarks, Arrupe discusses public opinion (“one of the great forces in today’s world”). He stresses how the Catholic Church can use “the mass-media of social communication” as a means to “fulfill […]
“Public Opinion and Evangelization,” Pedro Arrupe (1974) Read More »
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
Decree 8: “The Spiritual Formation of Jesuits,” General Congregation 31 (1966) Read More »
An two-day international symposium on famed Jesuit missionary to Tibet Ippolito Desideri (1648-1773) begins on October 13 in Pistoia, Desideri’s birthplace. The interdisciplinary conference is entitled, “The humane, religious, and scientific value of the Pistoian missionary’s great enterprise, three hundred years later.” It takes place at the Biblioteca San Giorgio. The program is
October 2017: Conference on Desideri Held in Pistoia Read More »
Brill’s Jesuit Studies book series has published its tenth volume, The Archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia (1557–1632). The text is published by four authors: Víctor M. Fernández of Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Jorge de Torres of the British Museum, Andreu Martínez d’Alòs-Moner of the University of Gondär, Ethiopia, and Carlos Cañete of the Centro de Ciencias
August 2017: New Archaeological History of Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia Read More »
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
Quadricentennial Address, Pius XII (1941) Read More »
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
On the Means of Preserving the Spirit of the Society and of Our Vocation (1569) Read More »
In this letter, Ignatius replies to a number of questions from Antonio Brandão, a Portuguese scholastic who had accompanied Simão Rodrigues to Rome. The original questions dealt with practical questions, some of which Ignatius addresses at the end of the letter by simply noting that they “are more dependent on circumstances.” Of note is Ignatius’s
Ignatius on Spiritual Life (1551) Read More »
The second volume of Brill’s Jesuit Studies book series is released. According to the publisher, Envoys of a Human God: The Jesuit Mission to Christian Ethiopia, 1557-1632, by Andreu Martínez d’Alòs-Moner, “offers a comprehensive study of the religious mission led by the Society of Jesus in Christian Ethiopia. The mission to Ethiopia was one of
April 2015: New Book on Early Jesuit Missionaries in Ethiopia Read More »
We invite you to join informal conversations with scholars working on the history, spirituality, and educational heritage of the Society of Jesus. Learn more about the Institute’s Jesuit Studies Café sessions here. Register for the Cafes offered each month in order to receive access to the Zoom link. Spring 2026 Conversations At Jesuit Studies Cafes in
March 2026 – Jesuit Studies Café: Spring Schedule Announced Read More »
Encyclopedia of Jesuit Translation Culture in Poland-Lithuania, 1564–1820 Editors: Mirosława Hanusiewicz-Lavallee and Robert Aleksander Maryks The Encyclopedia of Jesuit Translation Culture in Poland–Lithuania, 1564–1820 examines the Jesuits’ profound influence on the religious, cultural, and intellectual landscape of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, spanning from their arrival in 1564 to their final expulsion from the Russian empire in 1820. During
