| |
 He retired to a cave and lived in great austerity for ten months, practicing severe mental and physical mortification, including flagellation and fasting. After years of preparation, he formed a small band of disciples, and went to Rome to affirm his unqualified allegiance to the pope. He founded a new religious order called the Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuits.
In 1540, Pope Paul III approved the Society of Jesus as a new religious order. Loyola's object was to save the Roman Church through the papacy, and to this end, he organized his order on military lines. Each member had to put himself absolutely at the disposal of the General of the Order, and undertake without a word of argument any duty assigned to him, no matter how dangerous.
Loyola was an enthusiast and he transmitted to his Order his own enthusiasm, so that every Jesuit was prepared to do anything for the cause. The Jesuits were largely responsible for the recovery of most of Poland and Austria and parts of Southern Germany for Roman Catholicism as well as for keeping German Bavaria, Belgium, and Ireland in the Roman Catholic fold.
The Jesuits also performed extensive missionary work in North and South America. When Ignatius Loyola died in 1556, his order was nearly one thousand strong and had dispatched missionaries to four continents.
Besides the normal vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, the Jesuits added a fourth: unquestioned loyalty to the pope.
The Jesuits were the leaders in European education for 150 years. By 1640, they had more than 500 colleges throughout Europe; a century later, they had more than 650, plus two dozen universities and more than 200 seminaries.
Their devotion to the papacy called forth opposition from nationalistic rulers and leaders, and their zeal for ecclesiastical reform antagonized the clergy. At one time or another, the order has been expelled from every country in Europe. They were even suppressed by the papacy from 1773 to 1814.
Although the Jesuits could not overturn Protestantism, they played a significant role in preventing the Reformation from pressing on further south.
|
|
