JESUITS:
the name given in 1540 to the SOCIETY OF JESUS a brotherhood founded six years
earlier by Ignatius LOYOLA. During the period 1540-1555 it grew rapidly, acquiring an
autocratic structure provided by Loyola's military training and discipline which he
promoted in his Spiritual Exercises (1548). They established MISSIONS,
orphanages, houses for reclaiming prostitutes, schools, centers of poor relief, and even a
system of banking for destitute peasants. Francis XAVIER is perhaps the most famous Jesuit
missionary. By the time of Loyola's death in 1556, the Society was one thousand strong
with its influence being felt more acutely among the aristocracy than the poor. Through
the establishment of Colleges in university settings, the Society became a teaching Order
and a leader in CATHOLIC higher education. The Jesuits strongly supported the POPE at the
COUNCIL of TRENT and found themselves spearheading the intellectual attack on the
REFORMATION by becoming the foremost Roman Catholic APOLOGISTS. Today they are still a
powerful force in education and run numerous universities including the Gregorian
University in Rome.
