In this document, part of his instructions for the legates to Ireland (Alfonso Salmerón and Paschase Broët), Ignatius advises the men on how best to deal spiritually with the variety of persons they would encounter while also telling them to also avoid direct involvement in money matters. His instructions differ according to the legates’ different […]
Ignatius on Dealing with Others (1541) Read More »
The following text is the “Formula of the Institute” composed by St. Ignatius and his first companions in 1539 as a kind of charter or mission statement for the new Society of Jesus. It was inserted with minor revisions into the 1540 bull Regimini militantis Ecclesiae, in which Pope Paul III formally approved the foundation
Formula the Institute (1540) Read More »
Subsequent to their initial deliberations during Lent in 1539, the eleven men determined their religious order would include a vow of obedience. They offered their shared intentions to enter that organization by signing the following vow of obedience, if, the vow notes, the group “will be confirmed by the pope.” Papal approval for the Society
The First Jesuits’ Vow of Obedience (1539) Read More »
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 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 »
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
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