THE JESUITS

St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus in 1541 together with his nine companions, including St. Francis Xavier. From the time of its inception in 1541, the members of the Society, popularly known as Jesuits, were involved in the world as men committed to transform it. The pages of Jesuit history are filled with the names of Jesuit martyrs and saints who went to every corner of the earth to proclaim the message of Jesus in the face of extreme difficulties and opposition.

Today the Society numbers over twenty thousand men and is present in more than one hundred countries. No work, if it has an evangelical perspective, is closed to them, but they are best known in the fields of education, intellectual research, and cultural pursuits. They are also known in missionary work, social justice and human rights activities, interreligious dialogue, and other pioneering ministries.

Guided by the values of the Gospel and the inspiration of our founder St. Ignatius, we reach out to all sections of society in a spirit of love and service to build a more just world.

The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna Della Strada, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is led by a Superior General, currently Adolfo Nicolás.The headquarters of the Society, called General Curia, is in Rome.