Jesuit History

Ignatius Loyola and the Founding of the Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola, is a religious order that unites faculty and staff from 28 universities and 46 high schools in the United States in its worldwide network of colleges, schools and universities.

In 1491, during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Ignatius was born in Loyola, in the Basque country of northeastern Spain. He was raised to be a courtier-soldier and received the chivalric yet academically meager instruction typical of his noble class. In 1521, Ignatius, as part of a small band of Spanish soldiers, tried to defend the fortress town of Pamplona from an attack by the French army. A cannonball shattered his right knee; his image of himself as a handsome and dashing nobleman was shattered too. During the following 9 months while recovering in the family castle, he imagines his life modeled after various saints.

As soon as he had healed enough to walk, he began a journey to Jerusalem. He entered into the town of Manresa where he planned to stay for two days but instead was there for almost a year. Much of those months were spent in a cave in spiritual turmoil, struggling with emotions associated with his past (shallow) life and the images of what his future could be. He wrote of his experiences in a journal which were later helpful in guiding others to spiritual growth. These notes are now called the Spiritual Exercises and they continue to be used today to lead people to a spiritual transformation.

In order to "help souls" and serve God for the rest of his life as he had imagined, Ignatius chooses to obtain a clerical education. He begins following his dream, at the age of 33, by attending a Barcelona grammar school to prepare himself for entrance into a university. He continues at the Universities of Acala and Salamanca in Spain and concludes his formal education at the University of Paris, earning bachelor and master of art degrees. While in Paris, Ignatius roomed with Pierre Favre from the south of France and Francis Xavier from the Basque country. Gradually, a circle of friends formed, all having been guided through the Spiritual Exercises by Ignatius.

Ignatius and 9 friends, including Xavier and Favre, were ordained and in 1540 they founded the Society of Jesus with approval from Pope Paul II. Not surprising, Ignatius was elected as the first Superior General and served for 16 years in Rome until his death at the age of 65.

While education was not planned as an apostolic endeavor of the first companions, their early success flourished. At Ignatius' death, 32 schools had been formed; by the end of the 17th century there were 300. With the founding of Georgetown University in 1789, the first Jesuit university is established in the United States. One hundred and sixty-five years later, the youngest, Wheeling Jesuit University, opens the doors to its first class of students.

The Ignatian Vision

Sees life and the whole universe as a gift calling forth wonder and gratefulness.
Gives ample scope to imagination and emotion as well as intellect.
Seeks to find the divine in all things - in all peoples and cultures, in all areas of study and learning, in every human experience (and, for the Christian, especially in the person of Jesus).
Cultivates critical awareness of personal and social evil, but points to God's love as more powerful than any evil.
Stresses freedom, need for discernment, and responsible action
Empowers people to become leaders in service, "men and women for others," "whole persons of solidarity," building a more just and humane world.

Jesuit Education Today

Showcasing the contemporary pedagogical work of the faculty in the Ignatian Mentoring Program