Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J. and S.I. or SJ, SI ) is a Roman Catholic Church religious order whose members are called Jesuits, Soldiers of Christ, and Foot soldiers of the Pope, because the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a knight before becoming a priest.
Abbreviation | SJ, Jesuits |
---|---|
Motto | Ad maiorem Dei gloriam |
Formation | 1540 |
Type | Roman Catholic religious order |
Headquarters | Church of the Gesu (Mother Church), General Curia (administration) |
Location |
|
Coordinates | 41°54′4.9″N 12°27′38.2″E / 41.901361°N 12.460611°E |
Superior General | Arturo Sosa |
Key people | Ignatius of Loyola—founder |
Main organ | General Curia |
Staff | 19,216[1] |
Website | www.sjweb.info |
Jesuits are the largest male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church with 19,216 members (13,491 priests, 3,049 scholastic students, 1,810 brothers and 866 novices).
The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of the Madonna Della Strada. It is led by a Superior General, currently Arturo Sosa.[2][3]
The headquarters of the society, its General Curia, is in Rome.[4]
Within the Catholic Church, there has been a sometimes tense relationship between Jesuits and the Vatican. This is due to questioning of official Church teaching and papal directives, such as those on abortion,[5][6] birth control,[7][8][9][10] women deacons,[11] homosexuality, and liberation theology.[12][13]However, as of 2013, the current Pope, Pope Francis, is a Jesuit himself.
References
Other websites
Jesuit documents
- The Jesuit Ratio Studiorum of 1599 Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
- The Jesuit Mission Press in Japan, 1591-1610 Archived 2003-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Letter of the Jesuit Social Justice Secretariat to the leaders of the G8, July 2005PDF (98.5 KiB)
Jesuit websites
- Africa
- Jesuits in South Africa Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Asia-Oceania
- Europe
- North America
- South America
Media
- The BBC Radio 4 In Our Time programme on 18 January 2007 was devoted to the early history and educational role of the Jesuits; the programme's website offers a free podcast and 'listen again' service In Our Time website
- Pray-as-you-go: latest initiative by the British Jesuits, providing daily prayer in MP3 format for use "on the go"
- Documentary by the Society of Jesus Province of Chicago (Windows Media Player) Archived 2009-09-30 at the Wayback Machine