St. Xavier’s belongs to a world-wide organisation called
The Society of Jesus. (www.sjweb.info )
| Abbreviation | S.J. |
|---|---|
| Formation | 27 September 1540; 479 years ago |
| Founders | Ignatius of Loyola Francis Xavier Peter Faber Alfonso Salmeron Diego Laínez Nicholas Bobadilla Simão Rodrigues |
| Founded at | Paris, France officialized in Rome |
| Type | Order of clerics regular of pontifical right (for Men) |
| Headquarters | General Curia Borgo S. Spirito 4, C.P. 6139, 00195 Roma-Prati, Italy |
 | |
| Members | 16,378 |
| Superior General | Rev. Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ |
| Patron saint | Blessed Virgin Mary (under the title Madonna Della Strada) |
| Website | www.sjweb.info |
The Church of the Gesù, located in Rome, is the mother church of the Jesuits.
The Society of Jesus (SJ; Latin: Societas Iesu) is a religious order of the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded by Ignatius of Loyola with the approval of Pope Paul III in 1540. The members are called Jesuits (Latin: Iesuitæ). The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social ministries, and promote ecumenical dialogue.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a Navarre nobleman from the Pyrenees area of northern Spain, founded the society after discerning his spiritual vocation while recovering from a wound sustained in the Battle of Pamplona. He composed the Spiritual Exercises to help others follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. In 1534, Ignatius and six other young men, including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, gathered and professed vows of poverty, chastity, and later obedience, including a special vow of obedience to the Pope in matters of mission direction and assignment. Ignatius’s plan of the order’s organization was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 by a bull containing the “Formula of the Institute”.
Ignatius was a nobleman who had a military background, and the members of the society were supposed to accept orders anywhere in the world, where they might be required to live in extreme conditions. Accordingly, the opening lines of the founding document declared that the society was founded for “whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God to strive especially for the defence and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine.” Jesuits are thus sometimes referred to colloquially as “God’s soldiers”, “God’s marines”, or “the Company”, which evolved from references to Ignatius’ history as a soldier and the society’s commitment to accepting orders anywhere and to endure any conditions. The society participated in the Counter-Reformation and, later, in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council.
The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna Della Strada, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is led by a Superior General. The headquarters of the society, its General Curia, is in Rome. The historic curia of Ignatius is now part of the Collegio del Gesù attached to the Church of the Gesù, the Jesuit mother church.
In 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Jesuit to be elected Pope, taking the name Pope Francis.
(Introductory summary taken from Wikipedia)