The Society of Jesus
(Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J. and S.I. or SJ, SI) is a Roman Catholic religious
order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits, Soldiers of Christ,
and Foot soldiers of the Pope, because the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola,
was a knight before becoming a priest.Jesuits are the largest male religious order
in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members — 13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic
students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices — as of January 2008, although the
Franciscan family of first orders OFMs, Capuchins, and Conventuals has more
total members. The average age of the Jesuits in 2008 is 57.53: 63.01 for
priests, 30.01 for scholastics, and 65.06 for Brothers.Jesuit priests and
brothers are engaged in ministries in 112 nations on six continents.They are
best known in the fields of education (schools, colleges, universities,
seminaries, theological faculties), intellectual research, and cultural
pursuits. They are also known in missionary work and direct evangelization,
social justice and human rights activities, interreligious dialogue, and other
'frontier' ministry.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,
its General Curia, is in Rome. The historic curia of St Ignatius is now part of
the Collegio del Gesù attached to the Church of the Gesù, the Jesuit Mother
Church.
