The Jesuit Tradition
St. Ignatius Loyola was a Spanish soldier and aristocrat who established the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, in 1540. He instructed the early Jesuits to go out and "find God in all things"—the Jesuits' signature spirituality.
The Society of Jesus is the largest order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church, with almost 17,000 members serving in 112 countries.
One of the Society of Jesus's founding principles was "the education of children and unlettered persons." The Jesuits established their first school in 1548. Today, the Jesuits run more than 2,300 schools in 67 countries. Georgetown University, founded in 1789, is the oldest Jesuit school in the United States.
Pope Francis, who entered the Jesuits as a novice in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1969, is the first Jesuit to be elected pope. After his election to the papacy, Pope Francis said, "I feel I'm a Jesuit in my spirituality. I still think like a Jesuit."
The Examen
An important part of a Jesuit education is discernment. Each day, the Ignatius community pauses at 1:45 p.m. for five minutes to reflect on that active work- to pray the examen prayer. The prayer is read by students, faculty, or staff. Ignatius encouraged the Jesuits to make the examen a daily habit.Â
