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Definition: Jesuits from Philip's Encyclopedia

(officially Society of Jesus) Members of a Roman Catholic religious order for men, founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1534. They played a significant role in the Counter-Reformation. The Jesuits were active missionaries. They antagonized many European rulers because they gave allegiance only to their general in Rome and to the pope. In 1773 Pope Clement XIV abolished the order, under pressure from the Kings of France, Spain, and Portugal, but it continued to exist in Russia. The order was re-established in 1814, and remains an influential international religious organization.

Jesuit

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Member of the largest and most influential Roman Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1534, with the aims of protecting Catholicism against the Reformation and carrying out missionary work. During the 16th and 17th centuries Jesuits took a leading role in the Counter-Reformation , the defence of Catholicism against Protestantism – many, for instance, came to England to work to undermine the Elizabethan religious settlement . Others worked as missionaries in Japan, China, Paraguay, and among the North American Indians. The order had (1991) about 29,000 members (15,000 priests plus students and lay members). There are Jesuit schools and universities. History The Society of Jesus received papal approval in 1540. Its main objects were defined as educational work, the suppression of heresy, and missionary work among nonbelievers (its members were not confined to monasteries). Loyola infused into the order a spirit of military discipline, with long and arduous training. …
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Full text Article Jesuits

From Encyclopedia of American Religious History
Also known as: Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, began on August 15, 1534, when Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish nobleman and soldier, and six companions pledged themselves to poverty, chastity, and missionary work in the Holy Land or anywhere else the pope might send them. Officially…
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Full text Article Jesuits

From The Classical Tradition
Founded by Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) and approved in 1540 by Pope Paul III (r. 1534-1549), the Society of Jesus was an order of priests and lay brothers that answered directly to the Father General ( praepositus generalis ) and ultimately to the papacy. In addition to the more traditional vows…
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Full text Article Jesuits

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Catholicism
Also known as: Society of Jesus The Jesuits, or the Society of Jesus, is a worldwide educational and missionary order that played a key intellectual and organizational role in combating the Protestant Reformation. It was founded in Paris in 1536 by the Spaniard St. Ignatius of Loyola and six…
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Full text Article JESUITS

From Encyclopedia of Free Blacks and People of Color in the Americas
The Society of Jesus, commonly known as Jesuits, was founded in 1534 by St. Ignatius Loyola and other students at the University of Paris with the idea that they would go as missionaries to the Holy Land or wherever else the pope might decide to send them. Many Jesuits worked in various areas in…
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Full text Article THE JESUITS

From The Handy Answer Book Series: The Handy Christianity Answer Book
Spanish priest and theologian Ignatius of Loyola...
Another key point in the Counter-Reformation was the founding of the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus. The organization was started by Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556). Ignatius grew up in Spain and became a soldier. However, his leg was injured by a cannonball. While recovering, he went to a place…
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From The Encyclopedia of Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories
The Society of Jesus is a religious order of the catholic church , founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola. Its common “Jesuit” name was first applied as a term of reproach by critics who claimed that members of the society invoked the name of jesus christ with blasphemous frequency. As dictated by…
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Full text Article Jesuits.

From The Oxford Companion to British History
The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. It offered total obedience to the papacy and was prominent in the effort to recover ground lost to the church by the Reformation. Mary Tudor, though a devoted catholic, mistrusted the order and did not invite…
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Full text Article Jesuit

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Member of the largest and most influential Roman Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1534, with the aims of protecting Catholicism against the Reformation and carrying out missionary work. During the 16th and 17th centuries Jesuits took a leading role in the Counter-Reformation , …
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Full text Article Jesuit

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Member of the Roman Catholic order of religious men called the Society of Jesus. First organized by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534 at the University of Paris, the order was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. It discontinued many practices of medieval religious life, such as obligatory penances and…
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1732–1772; 1896 The Jesuit Relations (first collected in 1896) chronicles more than forty years of sustained interaction between Native Americans and Europeans. They were written by a group of missionaries of the Society of Jesus, a religious order founded in Paris by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534. …
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