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| Who exactly are the Jesuits? | Who exactly are the Jesuits? |
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| An old joke tells of a Franciscan, a Dominican and a Jesuit who are arrested during the Russian revolution for spreading the Christian, capitalist gospel, and thrown into a dark prison cell. In a bid to restore the light, each man reflects on the traditions of his own order. | An old joke tells of a Franciscan, a Dominican and a Jesuit who are arrested during the Russian revolution for spreading the Christian, capitalist gospel, and thrown into a dark prison cell. In a bid to restore the light, each man reflects on the traditions of his own order. |
| The Franciscan decides to wear sackcloth and ashes and pray for light. Nothing happens. The Dominican prepares and delivers an hour-long lecture on the virtue of light. Nothing happens. Then the Jesuit gets up and mends the fuse. The light comes on. | The Franciscan decides to wear sackcloth and ashes and pray for light. Nothing happens. The Dominican prepares and delivers an hour-long lecture on the virtue of light. Nothing happens. Then the Jesuit gets up and mends the fuse. The light comes on. |
| As the payoff suggests, the Society of Jesus has always been known for practicality and unflappability in the service of its motto: Ad Maiorem Dei gloriam (for the greater glory of God). Equally well known is the Jesuits' reputation as educators – giving rise to the adage: "Give me a child of seven, and I will show you the man." | As the payoff suggests, the Society of Jesus has always been known for practicality and unflappability in the service of its motto: Ad Maiorem Dei gloriam (for the greater glory of God). Equally well known is the Jesuits' reputation as educators – giving rise to the adage: "Give me a child of seven, and I will show you the man." |
| The society was founded by the Basque nobleman, soldier and future saint, Ignatius of Loyola, who turned to religion after a French cannonball mangled his leg in Pamplona in 1521. Despite attracting the interest of the inquisition, the Company of Jesus, as it was known at first, secured papal approval in 1540. | The society was founded by the Basque nobleman, soldier and future saint, Ignatius of Loyola, who turned to religion after a French cannonball mangled his leg in Pamplona in 1521. Despite attracting the interest of the inquisition, the Company of Jesus, as it was known at first, secured papal approval in 1540. |
| The term Jesuit – originally used pejoratively to describe someone who was too ready to use or appropriate the name of Jesus – was never employed by Loyola himself and was adopted only later. Nor were the Jesuits the initial agents of the Spanish Inquisition, which was run by the Dominicans when it was established in 1480. | The term Jesuit – originally used pejoratively to describe someone who was too ready to use or appropriate the name of Jesus – was never employed by Loyola himself and was adopted only later. Nor were the Jesuits the initial agents of the Spanish Inquisition, which was run by the Dominicans when it was established in 1480. |
| Central to the order's philosophy are the spiritual exercises set down by Loyola, which offer a means for the individual to learn more about themselves and God through prayer and guidance from a director. | Central to the order's philosophy are the spiritual exercises set down by Loyola, which offer a means for the individual to learn more about themselves and God through prayer and guidance from a director. |
| Such fortitude and focus was needed by the Jesuits, whose early missionary work took them through Protestant Europe and as far afield as the New World, Japan, Tibet and Goa. Although the 20,000-strong society is mainly comprised of priests, there are also 2,000 Jesuit brothers, and almost 4,000 scholastics – or men studying for the priesthood. | Such fortitude and focus was needed by the Jesuits, whose early missionary work took them through Protestant Europe and as far afield as the New World, Japan, Tibet and Goa. Although the 20,000-strong society is mainly comprised of priests, there are also 2,000 Jesuit brothers, and almost 4,000 scholastics – or men studying for the priesthood. |
| Members undertake a variety of roles: some work as parish priests; others as teachers, doctors, lawyers, artists and astronomers. | Members undertake a variety of roles: some work as parish priests; others as teachers, doctors, lawyers, artists and astronomers. |
| What binds them together is a shared vision of their role. According to Jesuits in the UK, the contemporary Jesuit mission "is the service of faith and the promotion in society of 'that justice of the Gospel which is the embodiment of God's love and saving mercy'". | What binds them together is a shared vision of their role. According to Jesuits in the UK, the contemporary Jesuit mission "is the service of faith and the promotion in society of 'that justice of the Gospel which is the embodiment of God's love and saving mercy'". |
| They are organised into 91 geographical "provinces", which are each overseen by a provincial superior, who answers to the head of the society, the superior general. | They are organised into 91 geographical "provinces", which are each overseen by a provincial superior, who answers to the head of the society, the superior general. |
| But despite their numbers and global presence – the society is the largest male order in the world, with members at work in more than a 100 countries around the world - Jesuits have had to wait almost five centuries to see one of their number elevated to the highest post in the Catholic church. | But despite their numbers and global presence – the society is the largest male order in the world, with members at work in more than a 100 countries around the world - Jesuits have had to wait almost five centuries to see one of their number elevated to the highest post in the Catholic church. |
| Although they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience Jesuits have historically been viewed with suspicion in Rome and elsewhere, and seen as a group that is a little too practical, a little too independent, and a little too powerful for its own good. | Although they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience Jesuits have historically been viewed with suspicion in Rome and elsewhere, and seen as a group that is a little too practical, a little too independent, and a little too powerful for its own good. |
| In Elizabethan England, Jesuits were reviled as the embodiment of the Catholic threat-from-within, ruthlessly persecuted and even dragged into the gunpowder plot. | In Elizabethan England, Jesuits were reviled as the embodiment of the Catholic threat-from-within, ruthlessly persecuted and even dragged into the gunpowder plot. |
| In the new world, their defence of the indigenous peoples they had converted to Catholicism put them at odds with the Spanish and Portuguese governments, who saw their behaviour as a hindrance to their economic interests in the area. | In the new world, their defence of the indigenous peoples they had converted to Catholicism put them at odds with the Spanish and Portuguese governments, who saw their behaviour as a hindrance to their economic interests in the area. |
| By the mid to late 18th century, the order had become so feared and despised that it was suppressed in many parts of the world, only to be re-established by Pope Pius VII in 1814. | By the mid to late 18th century, the order had become so feared and despised that it was suppressed in many parts of the world, only to be re-established by Pope Pius VII in 1814. |
| In the late 20th century some Latin American Jesuits echoed their predecessors by angering Rome through their embrace of liberation theology, in which Christ's teachings are interpreted in relation to the politics and economics of poverty. Among those who rejected the movement, which was later fiercely condemned by the Vatican under John Paul II, was an Argentinian Jesuit priest named Jorge Mario Bergoglio. | In the late 20th century some Latin American Jesuits echoed their predecessors by angering Rome through their embrace of liberation theology, in which Christ's teachings are interpreted in relation to the politics and economics of poverty. Among those who rejected the movement, which was later fiercely condemned by the Vatican under John Paul II, was an Argentinian Jesuit priest named Jorge Mario Bergoglio. |
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