Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus
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	Rome, Italy;
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
Website	www.sjweb.info

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.

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.

The headquarters of the society, its General Curia, is in Rome.

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, birth control, women deacons, homosexuality, and liberation theology. However, as of 2025, the previous and most recent Pope, Pope Francis, was a Jesuit.

References

↑ Curia Generalis, Society of Jesus (7 May 2007). "News from the Curia (Vol. 11, N. 9)". The Jesuit Portal – Society of Jesus Homepage. Archived from the original on 18 March 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2012. The annual statistics of the Society for 2006 have been compiled and will be mailed to the Provinces within a few days. As of January 1, 2007 the number of Jesuits in the world was 19,216 (364 fewer than in 2005)...
↑ "News on the elections of the new Superior General". Sjweb.info. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
↑ "africa.reuters.com, Spaniard becomes Jesuits' new "black pope"". Africa.reuters.com. 2009-02-09. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
↑ "Curia Generalizia of the Society of Jesus". Sjweb.info. Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
↑ John F. Kavanaugh (15 December 2008). "Abortion Absolutists". America. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
↑ Dennis O’Brien (30 May 2005). "No to Abortion:Posture, Not Policy". America. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
↑ Norbert J. Rigali, S.J. (23 September 2000). "Words and Contraception". America. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
↑ Richard A. McCormick (17 July 1993). "'Humanae Vitae' 25 Years Later". America. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
↑ Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. (28 September 1968). "Karl Rahner on 'Humanae Vitae'". America. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
↑ Thomas J. Reese, S.J. & various correspondents (31 March 2009). "Pope, Condoms and AIDS". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2011. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
↑ Phyllis Zagano (17 February 2003). "Catholic Women Deacons". America. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
↑ James Martin, S.J. (21 November 2008). "Jesuit General: Liberation Theology "Courageous"". America. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
↑ James Martin, S.J. (29 August 2010). "Glenn Beck and Liberation Theology". America. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

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

The Jesuit Portal - Jesuit Worldwide Homepage

Africa

Jesuits in South Africa Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine

Asia-Oceania

Jesuits in the Philippines

Europe

Jesuits in Britain

North America

South America

Jesuits in Chile

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

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[stats2-1] Curia Generalis, Society of Jesus (7 May 2007). "News from the Curia (Vol. 11, N. 9)". The Jesuit Portal – Society of Jesus Homepage. Archived from the original on 18 March 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2012. The annual statistics of the Society for 2006 have been compiled and will be mailed to the Provinces within a few days. As of January 1, 2007 the number of Jesuits in the world was 19,216 (364 fewer than in 2005)...

[2] "News on the elections of the new Superior General". Sjweb.info. Retrieved 2011-12-04.

[3] "africa.reuters.com, Spaniard becomes Jesuits' new "black pope"". Africa.reuters.com. 2009-02-09. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2011-12-04.

[4] "Curia Generalizia of the Society of Jesus". Sjweb.info. Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2011-12-04.

[5] John F. Kavanaugh (15 December 2008). "Abortion Absolutists". America. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

[6] Dennis O’Brien (30 May 2005). "No to Abortion:Posture, Not Policy". America. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

[7] Norbert J. Rigali, S.J. (23 September 2000). "Words and Contraception". America. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

[8] Richard A. McCormick (17 July 1993). "'Humanae Vitae' 25 Years Later". America. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

[9] Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. (28 September 1968). "Karl Rahner on 'Humanae Vitae'". America. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

[10] Thomas J. Reese, S.J. & various correspondents (31 March 2009). "Pope, Condoms and AIDS". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2011. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)

[11] Phyllis Zagano (17 February 2003). "Catholic Women Deacons". America. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

[12] James Martin, S.J. (21 November 2008). "Jesuit General: Liberation Theology "Courageous"". America. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.

[13] James Martin, S.J. (29 August 2010). "Glenn Beck and Liberation Theology". America. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.