Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - "the Society should show itself no less useful in reconciling the estranged, in holily assisting and serving those who are found in prisons or hospitals, and indeed in performing other works of charity . . ." (The Formula of the Institute [1540]). From its pre-history, the Society of Jesus has reached out to the poor, dispossessed and marginalised. St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) frequently ministered to incurables in various hospitals. In Rome he opened a house for former prostitutes, a home for young women liable for exploitation, and an orphanage. Equally important, as Superior General of the newly established Society of Jesus, he insisted that all novices have some experience of a ministry among the sick and poor. His Spiritual Exercises opened the eyes of many men and women to God's role in their lives, and enflamed their hearts so that they dedicated their lives to charitable works. Indeed, the later apostolic decision to establish colleges opened new vistas: through the sodalities and confraternities, students and alumni of Jesuit colleges witnessed in their lives the lofty Christian ideals they studied in the classrooms. St Luigi Gonzaga (1568-1591), eldest son of the marquis of Castiglione, forsook ducal courts for the Society of Jesus. As a student at the Roman College, he begged alms for the poor, and cared for the plague-stricken. He himself carried, washed and consoled the dying. Fearful for Luigi's heath, his superior forbade him to continue his work with victims of the plague. Instead he worked at a different hospital where such victims were generally not admitted. Nonetheless, a few months later he died of exhaustion due to this ministry.
St Peter Claver (1580-1654) was sent to the New World as a scholastic. Upon ordination in Cartagena (Columbia), he began what would become his life's work, ministering to the African slaves that passed through the port. Upon arrival, he offered them spiritual and physical nourishment. Through interpreters, he explained Christ's love for them; through his behaviour, he demonstrated his own. His compassion knew no limits. He nursed abused slaves and plague victims until old age and ill health prevented him.
More recently, Blessed Jan Beyzym (1850-1912) ministered to lepers in Madagascar. St José María Rubio (1864-1929), commonly known as the Apostle of Madrid, regularly visited the poorer areas of the city to assist the abandoned and the homeless. St Alberto Hurtado (1901-1952) founded El Hogar de Cristo, a movement responsible for the establishment of homes and technical schools for the poor throughout Chile. The Servant of God Jacinto Alegre Pujals opened hospitals and hospices for incurables first in Barcelona and eventually throughout Spain.
The same love impelled Jesuit missionaries to devote themselves to the promulgation of the Gospel to the proverbial four corners of the globe, e.g. St Francis Xavier (1506-1552); within Europe, e.g. St Peter Canisius (1521-1597) and Blessed Pierre Favre (1506-1546), or in popular missions, e.g. St Bernandino Realino (1530-1616) and Jean François Régis (1597-1640). Other Jesuits were "called upon to give the supreme testimony of love" (Lumen Gentium, no. 4) in martyrdom, e.g. Blessed Rudolfo Acquaviva (1550-1583); St Edmund Campion (1540-1581); St Paul Miki (1564-1597); St Isaac Jogues (1607-1646); and Blessed Miguel Pro (1891-1927). Of its fifty saints, thirty-three are martyrs (10 English, 3 Japanese, 1 Scot, 2 Polish, 1 Hungarian, 1 Paraguayan, 2 Spanish, 12 French and 1 Portuguese).
Arguably the most visible contemporary demonstration of the Society's continued commitment to works of charity is the Jesuit Refugee Service founded by Father General Pedro Arrupe in 1980. (Fr. Thomas McCoog SJ, Istituto Storico of the Society of Gesù in Rome and Archivist of British Province).
Biografical Note - Ignatius was born at Azpeitia a Basque town in 1491. He had decided to become a cavalier when during a period of convalescence he read a few books of Christian inspiration which put him on the path to conversion. He made a general confession at the Abbey of Monserrat, discarded his cavalier’s clothes and took a vow of chastity. For a year he lived a life of prayer and penance and decided to found a Society of consecrated men. The activity of the future Jesuits soon spread throughout the world. Pope Paul III approved the Society of Jesus in 1540. Ignatius of Loyola died on 31 July 1556 and was proclaimed a saint by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. Today there are about 19,500 Jesuits who work in 133 different countries in various fields of apostolate: Centres of Ignatian Spirituality; colleges, universities, schools; Jesuit Refugee Service; social centres; parishes; means of communications; Apostleship of Prayer. (Agenzia Fides 3/6/2006, righe 58, parole 827)
