So you have a Jesuit Pope…

A.k.a: Who are those Jesuit guys anyway…?

Aka – “The Society of

Jesus”

A combined effort of Washington Council #224 & the Holy Trinity Young Adult Community | Washington, DC

The Jesuits are BIG…Jesuits in the World — January 2007[1]

Region Jesuits %

South Asia Assistancy

4,018 20.9%

USA 2,952 14.2%

South Europe 2,448 12.7%

West Europe 1,958 10.2%

East Asia-Oceania 1,672 8.7%

South Latin America

1,513 7.9%

Africa 1,430 7.4%

North Latin America

1,374 7.2%

East Europe 1,119 5.8%

Central Europe 732 3.8%

TOTAL 19,216 100%

Jesuit Provinces

Largest single

religious order

(collectively, the Franciscan communities

are bigger)

Adolfo Nicolas30th Superior

General 3,730 Jesuit

Schools Worldwide

serving 2.5m students

18 Publishing Houses

including Loyola Press & Ignatius Press

In the US:• 68 Parishes• 28 Universities• 71 Secondary

Schools170,000

Children in 50 countries helped by

Jesuit Relief Services

199 Saints & Blesseds

With some symbols you may have seen…

• Orig. "Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem“- "for the greater glory of God and salvation of humanity."

• any work that is not evil, even one that would normally be considered inconsequential to the spiritual life, can be spiritually meritorious if it is performed in order to give glory to God.

• Frequently used by JPII as a closing

AMDGThe IHS• Monogram for Christ• Adopted by St.

Ignatius for whole order

Reflective of a unique spiritualityAN EXTERNAL WORLDVIEW…

Finding God Anywhere & Everywhere

MAGIS – Always looking to be more, to do more for the world, to go further and farther

Constantly trying to become “Men & Women for Others”

Focused on Discernment – finding God’s Will in your life

An outlook & approach, not a specific plan

WITH A CONTEMPLATIVE HEART

• Std: 30 day retreat, though adapted countless ways

• Focused on discerning God’s will for one’s life

• Silent reflection guided by a Spiritual Director

• Includes active use of the Imagination – putting oneself in Biblical stories

The Spiritual Exercises

• Silent reflection 1-2 times per day• 5 Parts:• Thinking about what we’re grateful

for• Inviting God into our lives• Examining the day – paying attention

to feelings of “consolation & desolation”

• Contrition for the times when we have failed

• Praying hopefully for the future

Daily Examen

That started ~450 Years Ago… by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

A nobleman from the

Basque Region intending to be

a solider

Maimed in a battle with the French

Leading to religious conversion while

recovering, laying down his arms on altar at Montserrat

& visions at Manressa

Studied to be a Priest, meeting the group that would found the Society

of JesusOriginally intended to

be an ascetic to the Holy Land, but

failed repeatedly

Founded the Society of Jesus in 1540 w/ group

from Paris – incl. Francis Xavier, Peter Faber, Francis Borgia

Wrote the Constitutions –

modeling it after a military organization w/ obedience to the

Pope

Didn’t intend to found an

OrderThe idea for

an order evolved over

timeWrote The

Spiritual

Exercises

Quickly becoming missionaries & teachers…

Using Western Science as means to

the far east

St. Francis Xavier first to India & Japan

Matteo Ricci1st to find success in

China (Ming Dynasty) via integration with Confucian values

Falling into Education by Accident as part

of the Counter-Reformation

The Ratio Studiorum

a part of the Jesuit education

system that would form the

basis for modern Liberal Education

The Pontifical Gregorian

University first University founded

by the Jesuits in 1551

…as well as explorers & scientists

Jacques Marquette

Went with French into Canada,

becoming one of the first Europeans to penetrate that

far into the continent

Going where no (western) man had

gone before…

Bento de GóisProved that the

legendary Cathay was China by traveling from

India to China by way of

Afghanistan and Pamirs

Christopher Clavius

One of the first in the Church hierarchy to

conclude that the heliocentric theory

was correct; Proposed a

calendar reform that became the

Gregorian Calendar

Johann Adam Schall

von BellAdvisor to the

Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing

dynasty that developed new

ways of predicting eclipses

Preparing the groundwork for the

modern world

Making a few people mad along the way… meaning they didn’t exist for a few years

Suppressed in 1767 by Clement XIV• For essentially

political reasons

Except in Russia (and a few others)• Included Poland

under Russian Rule• Places where

Church’s authority didn’t extent

• Polish leader became de facto Superior General

Restored in 1814 by Pius VII • Papal Bull Sollicitudo

omnium ecclesiarum

Challenged• Colonial Powers & Treatment of natives• Corruption, spiritual sloth, venality, etc

inside the Church

Meanwhile• Their techniques had given them wealth,

power, & success

…living lives of heroic virtue, often even to death

N. American Martyrs,

1649

El Salvador Martyrs,

1989

The Martyrs of Nagasaki,

1597

The Mexican Martyrs,

1929

England & Wales, 1535-

1679

Martyred

Saints & Blessed

St. Stanislaus

St. Francis XavierSt.

Aloysius Gonzaga

St. Peter Claver

St. Peter Canisi

us

St. Ignatius

de Loyola

But have since rebounded & dedicating themselves to the service of mankind in all its variation…

James Martin• Chaplain of The Colbert Report

• Writer of The Jesuit Guide to (almost) Everything

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin• Author of The Phenomenon of Man

Joseph O'Callahan• Navy Chaplain & Recipient of US Medal of Honor

Gerard Manly Hopkins• English Poet

Pierre-Jean De Smet• Native American Missionary

José Gabriel Funes• Director, Vatican Observatory

With some interesting modern characteristics…

You may have met one without realizing it• They’re to dress, eat,

live like the people around them so as to better minister to them

• Explicitly NOT monastic

Jesuit Formation is the longest of any… 14-20 years• Expected to have

reached mastery in a field other than theology (typically a PhD)

• Includes a required period in a mission

The Jesuits have a lot in common with the Special Forces…• They can be sent

anywhere in the world with 48hours notice or less… and they often are… most keep a set of bags perpetually packed

Other things to know

They’re not stranger to controversy• Will engage in politics &

Challenge the Status Quo• All parts of the political spectrum

Close Knit Community• Those trained, taught, ministered

to, etc by the Jesuits have an extremely active community furthering & protecting them

• Anything with “Loyola” in it

Social justice is a BIG deal• Advocate regularly for the poor,

refugees, and the disenfranchised• Numerous partnership groups

exist to promote & further

They view the laity (incl. & esp. women) as active partners• Most of their institutions,

ministries, parishes, etc are run as an active joint venture with the laity

They’ve been portrayed in some famous films…• The Mission• Exorcism series

Masters of Modern Media• Associated with Loyola Press &

Ignatius Press • Run websites such as Pray as

you Go (MP3 Daily Reflections) and Other 6

So what does all this mean? A few Ideas from some different sources

Pope Francis will challenge us with

“the silence that the world hates”

He will bring reform & transparency to

the Church

He will challenge us to remember the

poor - the “lowly but chosen”

He will have a sense of humor

He will remind us that in the midst of the wealth of the modern world –

there is virtue in the simple

He will remind us that Christ is

“present in us and among us as a

friend, a brother” meeting us where

we are

He will call us to be Joyful

He will see himself as “a sinner

nonetheless called to be a companion

of Jesus”

He will seek the Magis – the Greater

Good

A final Prayer

Lord, teach me to be generous.Teach me to serve you

as you deserve;to give and not to

count the cost,to fight and not to heed the wounds,

to toil and not to seek for rest,to labor and not to ask for

reward,save that of knowing that I do

your will.

Other ResourcesName Category URL

Jesuits in the US General Information

http://www.jesuit.org/

Creighton University Online Ministries

General Information

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html Pray as You Go Ignatian

Spiritualityhttp://www.pray-as-you-go.org/

Ignatian Spirituality Ignatian Spirituality

http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/

Other 6 Ignatian Spirituality

http://www.other6.com/

Loyola Press Publisher http://www.loyolapress.com/

Ignatius Press Publisher http://www.ignatius.com/

Loyola Productions Inc

Video Publisher http://www.loyolaproductions.com/

Jesuit Relief Services Ministry http://www.jrsusa.org/

America Magazine Ministry http://americamagazine.org/

Knights of Columbus #224

Presentation Author

http://www.kofc224.org/

Holy Trinity Young Adults

Presentation Author

http://www.trinity.org/yac