Medieval Christianity: The Jesuits

The Jesuits,like all phenomenally successful institutions,garnered for themselves immense unpopularity and a series of vicious attacks from Christians and atheists alike.They were continually accused of arrogance and from 1773 until 1814 were even suppressed by the Papacy.No religious body has aroused more prejudice and seen its record clouded by so much sheer ignorance.Michael Foss's prime task was to dissolve the myths and the over-subjective paraphernalia.Setting his account vividly against a background of European civilisation at the cross-roads,he has illuminated not only the lives of Loyola and Francis Xavier,their lieutenants and successors,but also the aims and actions of a society whose foundation was one of the most important and far-reaching events in the history of the Church.-Flap cover.

"The Jesuits" is a vivid chronicle of the Society of Jesus from its founding in 1539 by the Spanish soldier-saint Ignatius Loyola to the present day. This concise history of one of the greatest forces within the Catholic Church opens with an account of Loyola's life, the founding of the Society, the composition of the "Spiritual Exercises" which have guided members of the Order from its foundation, and the first years, when, almost immediately, it became clear that the Jesuits' metier was teaching. "The Jesuits" concludes with an engrossing chronicle of the events which were to bring about the restoration of the Order in 1814, and the succeeding century and a half during which it was to gain distinction above all Catholic religious orders for dedication to education, science, learning and, particularly during Vatican II, ecclesiastical reform. -Flap cover.

"The Origin of the Jesuits" first appeared in 1940. Europe was then engulfed in war. Father James Brodrick, the author, had intended a work describing the role that the early generations of Jesuits played in the period we now call the Counter Reformation. But because of the circumstances of the time and the restrictions placed on a nation in wartime, only the first could appear. The sequel, "The Progress of the Jesuits" (1556-1579), did not follow until seven years later. The present volume covers the life span of St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1554) and treats his background, conversion, studies in Paris, early companions, settling down in Rome, and the founding of the Society of Jesus. The reader meets the founder's companions and acquaintances and is introduced to the principal apostolic works that the Society undertook in those years. Father Brodrick also writes of he missionary endeavors of St. Francis Xavier, one of Ignatius' first associates, and describes Xavier's labors in two chapters, one dealing with his work in China and the other about his work in Japan. Nor is the Society's early commitment to education in Italy, Spain, and elsewhere forgotten. These pages, thus, serve as an introduction to the Society of Jesus and its members as well as to its works. -Foreword

Publisher's description: When Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuits (or the Society of Jesus) in 1534, his modest goal was to lead a group of nine like-minded students at the University of Paris on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to convert the Muslims. By the time of his death in 1556, approximately one thousand priests were Jesuits. The order continued to grow rapidly, distinguishing itself first in the field of education and quickly becoming a force to reckon with as its interests-and influence-expanded into the economic, political, and cultural spheres. Along with their authority, the Jesuits also acquired powerful enemies. At one time or another, they were expelled from every country in Europe. The Jesuits' reputation for academic excellence, which continues today, began almost as soon as the order was founded. As part of their determined efforts to reclaim Protestant Europe for the Catholic Church, they built schools and colleges in nearly every important city; by the mid-eighteenth century, they had established more than 650 educational institutions. They were also strongly committed to foreign missions, and like the secular explorers and settlers of the Age of Discovery, traveled to the Far East, India, and the Americas to stake a claim. They were especially successful in Latin America, where they managed to put numerous villages entirely under Jesuit rule. Their successes both in Europe and abroad, coupled with rumors of scandal and corruption within the order, soon drew criticism from within the Church and without. Writers like Pascal and Voltaire wrote polemics against them, and the absolute monarchs of Catholic Europe sought to destroy them. Their power was seen as so threatening that hostility escalated into serious political feuds, and at various times, they were either banned from or harshly suppressed throughout Europe. GOD'S SOLDIERS is fascinating chronicle of this celebrated, mysterious, and often despised religious order. Jonathan Wright illuminates as never before their enduring contributions as well as the controversies that surrounded them. The result is an in-depth, unbiased, and utterly compelling history that will appeal to the general and religious reader alike.

Here is historical writing at its best,about a time as turbulent and colorful as any ever was.Fr.Brodrick writes to be read,not to be profound,or learned,or argumentative,or "scholarly",or dry-as-dust.With dry wit,good humor,and an occasional mischievous tweak of a pompous nose or two,he chronicles the growth and growing pains of the young Society of Jesus after the death of its Founder,Ignatious Loyola.-Flap cover.

As religious orders played so important a part in religion and for religion,Catholics will not be surprised when they hear that their foundation is,in some way,attributed to a special influence of Divine Providence.That,indeed,has been explicitly stated by numerous Popes in regard to the orders of St.Benedict,St.Francis,St.Dominic,and others;it has also been said by Popes in regard to the foundation of the Society of Jesus.But this is a point which the historian need not investigate.There are,however,other points which will interest him and his readers.It must be discovered what special elements,conditions of the period and current intellectual and social trends influenced the foundation of religious orders and determined their specific character.Again,and this is a very significant point,it must be shown whether there was any special reason for the foundation of a new order and what particular needs of the time it it answered.Furthermore,it will be important to understand what influence the founder of a religious order exercised on his foundation;what special gifts,intellectual,moral and religious,he possessed which fitted him for this work.It should be seen too by whom he was assisted:who,and what manner of men,the first and foremost companions were.This naturally suggests the subject of the first two chapters:the first,the times,or the historical background of the foundation;the second,the men,or the personality of the founder and his first companions.-Introduction.

"Both John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald were said in their turn to have been 'tools of the Jesuits',but the most prepostrous accusation that I have encountered was made by a certain Edmonds Paris in his book "The Secret History of the Jesuits",namely that "Mein Kampf" was written not by Adolf Hitler but by a Jesuit by the name of Stampfle.Mr.Paris does at least make one thing very clear-that he himself never actually got around to reading Herr Hitler's impenetrable masterwork.But behind such lurid and ridiculous accusations as these lurks the more conventional image of the sinister,scheming Jesuit that has been instantly conjured up by such phrases as 'faithful unto death','fanatically loyal to the Pope',and,most sinister of all,'the end justifies the means'.How much truth is there,if any,to this four hundred year old stereotype?Were the activities of the Jesuits a spur or a hindrance to spiritual awakening,both within the Church and outside it? How much influence did the Order actually have on European political life? This book will try to provide the answer to these purely historical questions,and also to examine the situation of the Order in the world of today and its prospects for the future.-From the Foreword.

To incorporate the findings of recent research into this new edition, Bangert has rewritten many paragraphs and made changes on more than 60 of the 570 pages in the earlier editions since 1972. To bring the history up to the present he has also added 20 pages and an updated bibliography. The book includes brief but comprehensive treatments of the Jesuits activities in all the continents of the world from 1540 till the present. It sets the missionary efforts within the context of the Society's other work in the rest of the world. -Flap cover.

This study reconsiders the forces behind these dramatic developments within the French church through the re-examination of a classic question in French history:Why was the Society of Jesus able to integrate successfully into the French church in the opening decades of the seventeenth-century,despite being expelled from much of the kingdom in 1594 for its alleged role in the attempted assassination of the king?The expulsion,recall and subsequent integration of the Society into the French church offers a unique window into the evolution of French Catholicism between 1590 and 1620.It provides new insight into how Henri IV re-established royal authority in the French Catholic church following the collapse of the Catholic League and how this development helped to heal the rifts in French Catholicism wrought by the Leaguer movement.It also explores in unprecedented detail how Henri played an important role in channeling religious energy in his kingdom towards forms of Catholic piety-exemplified by his new allies the Jesuits-which became the foundation of seventeenth-century French Catholic renewal.In so doing this book makes a contribution to our understanding of the wider European Catholic reform movement by providing a useful examination of how corporations like the Jesuits dedicated to international Catholic reform were shaped by the needs of national authorities to make specific contributions in local texts.-Flap cover.

reference book outlining the major works published by the Jesuits throughout their history-Amazon.

Highly readable and stylish written,this long-awaited book is the first to recount the absorbing story of the Jesuit missions in both civilisations.It shows how the Jesuits' sensitivity to Japanese and Chinese cultured directly and conciously contradicted the imperialism of the Spanish and the Portuguuese,and allowed the possibility of dialogue between East and West which other European stances excluded.It is a richly detailed account,exploring the first attempt by western European Christians to realise the university of Christianity outside European culture,and will be welcomed by students of Japanese and Chinese History,Church History,Religious studies and Missiology.-Flap cover.

The 'Question of Rites' - or the Chinese Rites controversy - created a scandal in the 17th and 18th centuries that shook the Catholic Church, horrifying Pascal and the Jansenists, delighting Voltaire and the free thinkers, and contributing, in the end, to the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773. The affair arose with the attempt to convert China to Christianity and revolved around the question of accommodation to a different culture (still a live issue today). Specifically, what attitude should the missionaries adopt to the ancestor veneration that was so integral a part of Chinese culture? The Jesuits, who came first, saw it as 'merely civic and social custom, tinged perhaps with superstition, but separable from it'; the friars as 'certainly superstitious and perhaps even idolatrous'. The struggle for the prize - the conversion of China - fuelled old Jesuit-Dominican antagonisms. There were wide repercussions: politics, national and ecclesiastical, even the history of science were involved. Professor Cummins retells the story from a deliberately 'dissident' viewpoint. Till now the account has been largely that of the Jesuits; his focus is the Spanish Dominican, Domingo Navarrete (1618-86), who emerged as the spokesman for the friars' cause. Not a scholar or scientist of the calibre of Matteo Ricci or other Jesuit 'geometers' in Peking, Navarrete nonetheless fully merits attention as a perceptive and frank observer of a passionate and complex scene. His major work, the Tratados, was widely read, admired by the likes of Quesnay and Locke, and served as a key source of European knowledge about China. The first chapters of the present book set out the background: the rise of the Dominicans and the Jesuits, their differing philosophies, and their conflicts in Europe and America. After tracing the origins of the China mission, Professor Cummins then follows Navarrete's career, his 22 years in Asia, involvement in the politics of Rome and Madrid, his writings, down to his death as a would-be reforming archbishop of Hispaniola. At the same time he conveys with a rare sympathy all the dreams and passion of these missionaries, while remaining alive to the ironies and contradictions of the positions they adopted.

Three of the six voices that were silenced on November 16,1989,are revived in this memorial tribute to their thought.Fathers Ignacio Ellacuria,Ignacio Martin-Baro,and Segundo Montes contributed to a vision of the Catholic university in El Salvador and in LatinAmerica that strengthened its Christ-centered moral and social responsibility for society...Their social outreach grew from a theology of liberation that was grounded in turn on hope for the Kingdom of God.Their work and witness were nurture by a faith in God and a love of their fellow human beings that transcended the domains and systems of political power,privilege,and material wealth.In their quest for a renewed praxis of the lasting truths of comprehensive social justice,these pastors and academic leaders gave their lives,along with two women co-workers,ad majorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem,"for the greater glory of God and the welfare of humanity"-From the Foreword.

"In recent years scholars in a range of disciplines have begun to re-evaluate the history of the Society of Jesus. Approaching the subject with new questions and methods, they have reconsidered the importance of the Society in many sectors, including those related to the sciences and the arts. They have also looked at the Jesuits as emblematic of certain traits of early modern Europeans, especially as those Europeans interacted with 'the Other' in Asia and the Americas." "Originating in an international conference held at Boston College in 1997, the thirty-five essays here reflect this new historiographical trend."-- Provided by publisher.