JESUS, SOCIETY OF, a Catholic Religious Order, founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola. It is a mendicant Order of clerks regular. Its members rely on alms for their support. They have for their end the spiritual perfection not only of themselves but of all men. In the beginning Ignatius used the Spanish term Com paiiia to express the soldier spirit of loyalty to the captain, Jesus. This name was Latinized by Ignatius into that of Societas. The Pope, Paul III, in 1540, ruled that the official title should be Societas Jesu. The word "Jesuit," originating in the preceding century, was fixed on Ignatius' companions as a term of reproach and contempt. Gradually it was accepted by the Society and acquired an honourable meaning. The two understandings of the name persist to our day so that the Jesuits have been always regarded by some as a Society to be feared and condemned and by others as the most laudable and esteemed Religious Order in the Catholic Church.
The establishment of the Society of Jesus as a Religious Order evolved in the mind of Ignatius Loyola (See LOYOLA, ST. IGNATIUS OF) through a term of years and a series of clarifications. Born in 1491 in the ancestral castle in GuiptIzcoa, Ignatius was early inducted into the career of the soldier. In 1521, campaigning for the defence of Navarre against the French, he was struck down by a cannon-ball at Pampeluna. The period of inactivity that necessarily followed turned him from military pursuits to religious aspirations. His definite conversion dated from his pil grimage to Montserrat and his life as a recluse at Manresa where he was inspired with the ideas which later were formulated in the Spiritual Exercises. His first apostolic impulse was for labour in the Holy Land, whither he went in 1523. Visioning more clearly, however, he realized that education and companions were required to execute his plans for God's greater glory. He devoted eleven years to study at Barcelona, Alcala, Salamanca, and finally at Paris. Through these student years, his extraordinary zeal and charity often caused him to be persecuted and imprisoned, but upon examination he was always vindicated.
At Paris he attracted to himself six brilliant young university students : Peter Faber, a Savoyard; Francis Xavier, of Navarre ; James Laynez, Alphonsus Salmeron, Nicholas Bobadilla, Span iards and the Portuguese, Simon Rodriguez. In 1534 these seven
bound themselves by vows to poverty, chastity, and to a pilgrim age to Jerusalem. Three others joined the brotherhood in 1536, namely, Claude LeJay, a Savoyard, and the Frenchmen, Jean Codure and Paschase Broet. Being prevented by the wars with the Turks from going to the Holy Land, the companions went to Rome in order to place themselves at the disposal of the Pope. They were ordained priests, and consulted among themselves through months as to their future mode of life. Thus far, they followed no rule and were subject to no communal authority. They saw the necessity of obedience to an authority and of seek ing means to perpetuate their brotherhood. In 1539, Ignatius drew up a Formula Instituti, which, after some hesitation, Paul III approved on September 27, 154o, in the Bull Regimini militantis Ecclesiae. The membership was limited to sixty. In April, 1541, Ignatius was chosen General of the new Order.
The concept of the Society is briefly expressed in two docu ments composed by Ignatius: the Spiritual Exercises and the General Examen (See LOYOLA, SAINT IGNATIUS OF). The latter, intended for persons proposing to join, is a brief statement of the aims and requirements of the Society. The former is a con cise memorandum for the guidance of a director and an exercitant in the performance of a carefully planned series of reflections, meditations, affective aspirations, self-examinations, and resolu tions. The aim of the Spiritual Exercises is: (I) the purification of the soul from disordered affections and worldly standards; (2) the discovery of the Divine Will before making a choice of a state of life; (3) the consecration of the person's mind and will to the service of the Creator under the leadership of Jesus Christ. They are divided into four periods, designated as "weeks." The Spiritual Exercises, in a sense, are to the Society what the Rule (regula) is to the older Religious Orders. From them have been derived the ascetical teaching and practice of the members as well as methods of their apostolate.