Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus (Societas Iesu/Jesu (S.J.) in Latin) is a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in direct service to the Pope. Its members, known as Jesuits since the Protestant Reformation, have been called "Footsoldiers of the Pope" in part because the Society's founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque nobleman and soldier before his conversion. Today, Jesuits number over 20,000 and comprise the largest religious order in the Catholic Church. Jesuit priests and brothers are engaged in ministries in 112 nations on six continents. Their work is focused on education and intellectual contributions, primarily at colleges and universities.

See also

• Superior General of the Society of Jesus
• Acta Sanctorum
• Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
• Bollandist
• Catholicism in China
• Catholicism in Japan
• Jesuit Ivy
• Jesuit pre-modern China missions
• Laying on of hands
• Madonna Della Strada
• Misiones Province, Argentina