Jesuits (The Society of Jesus)

The Jesuits trained priests, ensuring that qualified people held church positions.

Catholic Answer

The primary goal of the Society of Jesus was to combat the protestant heresy, in this they were not successful, although they did make some difference, mostly in localized locales. This was only one of the goals of the Society "to restore the Catholic faith among those devastated by this heresy. The other goal was to evangelize those who had never heard of the Gospel. The Jesuits had two things going for them, they were highly educated and trained, from the beginning, to become a full fledged Jesuit has involved nine years of study and formation. The other thing is that the Jesuit take a special fourth vow of immediate obedience to the Holy Father. In this they remain flexible as the Holy Father may call on them at any time. They did a great deal in both areas, that of education, and that of evangelization . Many Catholic schools, colleges, and universities were founded by the Jesuits. The overall effect of the Jesuits has been to strengthen the Church, and her mission.

from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Jesuits. The Society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. As conceived by the founder, it had a twofold aim: to strengthen and where necessary to restore the Catholic faith in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, and to preach the Gospel in non-Christian lands. Typical of the first purpose was the establishment of colleges throughout Europe, and the second purpose was the development of worldwide mission enterprises in Asia, Africa, and the newly developed Americas.

1) to strengthen and where necessary to restore the Catholic faith in the wake of the protestant revolt.

2) to preach the Gospel in non-Christian lands.

The Jesuits grew to be the largest, most mobile, and most highly educated single religious order in the Catholic world. They founded colleges worldwide and established many missions.

Besides the three normal solemn vows of a religious (save monks) of poverty, chastity, and obedience; they take an additional four simple vows: special obedience to the Pope, not to mitigate the society's poverty, not to accept ecclesiastical dignitaries, actively seeking to avoid such preferments. All finally professed made a total renunciation of private ownership.

extracted from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

(Jesuit Missions) The phrase Jesuit Missions usually refer to a Jesuit missionary enterprise in a particular area, involving a large number of Jesuits priests and brothers, and lasting over a long period of time. or the word "mission" could refer to the goal for which they were established, which, according to St. Ignatius Loyola is two-fold, as taken from the definition below: "to strengthen and where necessary to restore the Catholic faith in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, and to preach the Gospel in non-Christian lands."

from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Jesuits. The Society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. As conceived by the founder, it had a twofold aim: to strengthen and where necessary to restore the Catholic faith in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, and to preach the Gospel in non-Christian lands. Typical of the first purpose was the establishment of colleges throughout Europe, and the second purpose was the development of worldwide mission enterprises in Asia, Africa, and the newly developed Americas.

New France (French: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Britain in 1763.

Four Jesuit priests came to Quebec in 1625. Although it was intended that others should follow at once, their number was not substantially increased until seven years later, when the troubles with England were brought to an end and the colony was once more securely in the hands of the French. Then the Jesuits came steadily, a few arriving with almost every ship, and either singly or together they were sent off to the Indian settlements.

More missionaries kept coming, however; the work steadily broadened; and the posts of service were multiplied. In due time the footprints of the Jesuits were everywhere, from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, from the tributaries of the Hudson to the regions north of the Ottawa. Priests such as: Le Jeune, Masse, Brebeuf, Lalemant, Ragueneau, Le Dablon, Jogues, Gamier, Raymbault, Peron, Moyne, Allouez, Druilletes, Chaumonot, Menard, Bressani, Daniel, Chabanel, and a hundred others were active around 1625.

The outposts in the Indian country were the chief scene of Jesuit labors from 1615 to about 1700, when the emphasis shifted to the St. Lawrence valley.