By Vatican.com 5/22/2018
Members of The Society of Jesus are called Jesuits. The Society of Jesus is an all male religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. The society’s main purpose is to engage in evangelization and apostolic ministry. They are involved in these activities in more than100 nations throughout the world. The Jesuits focuses on intellectual research, education (schools, higher education and religious seminaries) and cultural exploits.
Some of the most prominent Universities in the world, and especially in the US, were founded originally by the Jesuit Order and some are still run by it.
The Order was founded just before the “official” counterreformation movement began. The Society for Jesus was founded by Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius was a Spanish highborn knight who decided to found the society following his conversion. He had a religious conversion after he was wounded in the battle of Pamplona in 1521. Moved profoundly by his religious experiences, Ignatius decided to devote his life to his faith and religious teaching and exercises. He was greatly inspired by saint Francis of Assisi (after which Pope Francis named himself).
