Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus on July 21, 1773. In the preceding decades, the Jesuits had suffered expulsions from the Catholic empires of Portugal (1759), France (1764), and Spain (1767), where they had become handy scapegoats for kings or princes under civic pressure. In Portugal, for example, charges against the Society included […]
Dominus ac Redemptor (1773) Read More »
On February 1 and 2, the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp and the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp co-host a two-day conference on “Jews and Jesuits: Contacts Across the Ages.” The event celebrates the tenth year of Antwerp’s Chair for Jewish-Christian Relations. According to the program, the conference examines “the interactions and
February 2018: Antwerp Conference on Jews and Jesuits Read More »
The 132nd annual meeting of the American Historical Association (January 4–7 in Washington, D.C.) is centered on the themes of “Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism in Global Perspective.” The conference features the following academic panels and presentations, among others, related to the field of Jesuit Studies: Thursday, January 4, 1:30PM Panel: “The Digital
January 2018: Presentations on Jesuit Studies at the AHA Conference Read More »
On December 6, 2017, the Accademia Nazionale Virgiliana di Scienze Lettere e Arti hosts a conference to mark the bicentennial of the death of Jesuit scholar Juan Andrés (1740-1817). Andrés, born in Spain, was a prominent Christian humanist and literary critic. The conference in Mantua, Italy features nine presentations over two sessions. A program, appearing below,
December 2017: Conference on Juan Andrés in Mantua Read More »
On February 2, 2006, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach wrote to the members of the Society of Jesus in his position as their father general. He explained that a new general congregation should be convoked in order that his resignation could be accepted and his successor elected. When the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus accepted
General Congregation 35 Read More »
The 33rd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (September 1–October 25, 1983) was the first in Jesuit history to accept the resignation of a superior general. Pedro Arrupe had been elected superior general 18 years earlier by the delegates at the 31st General Congregation. On August 7, 1981, Arrupe suffered a debilitating stroke following
General Congregation 33 Read More »
One September 8, 1973, after much deliberation and preparation, Superior General Pedro Arrupe issued a letter that announced the 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus would begin in December 1974. The appointed delegates gathered in Rome not to elect Arrupe’s successor but rather to because of what historian John Padberg has described as
General Congregation 32 Read More »
The 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus was the first in Jesuit history to meet over two independent sessions, meeting first from May 7, 1965 until July 15, 1965, and then again from September 8, 1966 until November 17, 1966. The delegates in attendance (224 in all) represented roughly 36,000 of their Jesuit brethren
General Congregation 31 Read More »
The last decree issued by the 35th General Congregation concerned the “dynamism” begun by the previous congregation of Jesuit delegates in 1995. The decree below contains the delegates’ call for renewal by the members of the Society of Jesus of “our commitment to apostolic collaboration and to a profound sharing of labor of the life
Decree 6: “Collaboration at the Heart of Mission,” General Congregation 35 (2008) Read More »
The fifth of six decrees promulgated by the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus concerned the order’s “governance structures and ways of proceeding.” The decree, appearing below, is a highly technical and internally focused document. Among its measures, the decree directs the new superior general “to undertake a comprehensive review of the central
