Background
The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, came about when Ignatius of Loyola was wounded in war, and couldn’t fight anymore, so he decided to submit to the church and be a soldier for God. He spent 12 years praying, making pilgrimages, going to school, and coming up with a spiritual program in his short book The Spiritual Exercises. The book contained clues for strengthening the human will so that one can follow God’s will. He then got a group together in 1540 to be recognized as a religious order. This new group decided to follow the pope completely, to teach in order to bring up more intellectuals, and to fight for God when necessary. This group was similar to a military group, especially in the sense of acceptance into the group, in which there was a training program to determine who was really dedicated. The general was in charge of all, and assigned other positions. Loyola became the first general until he died in 1556. Because the Jesuits vowed to follow the pope, this made them a huge asset to the papacy.
Activities of the Jesuits
The Jesuits mainly focused on three things. The first was very organized and disciplined schools, which took many ideas from the humanistic schools. The Jesuits believed that in order to fight against the Protestants, they would have to be well educated. By 1600, the Jesuits had surpassed all other educators and were highly known for their outstanding academics.
The second of the three activities was the spreading of the Catholic faith. Francis Xavier spread Catholicism all the way to the east, going through India and converting thousands before reaching Japan in 1549. Xavier was able to save thousands of Japanese, and he began a journey to China, but he died in 1552 on his way.
There was another man by the name of Matteo Ricci, who carried the message all the way to China. The Christians knew that the Chinese people loved their culture, so they used it to their advantage and came up with many similarities between the Chinese beliefs and the Christian beliefs, in an attempt to convert. The Christians were fascinated with the Chinese culture, and they stirred many people’s imaginations with stories of this great civilization when they returned home.
The final important activity for the Jesuits was to fight the Protestants and to promote Catholicism. Many people returned to Catholicism in Germany and eastern Europe as a result of the Jesuits. Poland was also regained because of the Jesuits. The Jesuits helped to fight against the reformer’s attacks and to defend Catholicism.
The second of the three activities was the spreading of the Catholic faith. Francis Xavier spread Catholicism all the way to the east, going through India and converting thousands before reaching Japan in 1549. Xavier was able to save thousands of Japanese, and he began a journey to China, but he died in 1552 on his way.
There was another man by the name of Matteo Ricci, who carried the message all the way to China. The Christians knew that the Chinese people loved their culture, so they used it to their advantage and came up with many similarities between the Chinese beliefs and the Christian beliefs, in an attempt to convert. The Christians were fascinated with the Chinese culture, and they stirred many people’s imaginations with stories of this great civilization when they returned home.
The final important activity for the Jesuits was to fight the Protestants and to promote Catholicism. Many people returned to Catholicism in Germany and eastern Europe as a result of the Jesuits. Poland was also regained because of the Jesuits. The Jesuits helped to fight against the reformer’s attacks and to defend Catholicism.