Jesuits Role In The Counter-Reformation

312 Words2 Pages

The Jesuits were an important part of the Counter-Reformation, by spreading the word of Catholicism across the world gaining new followers for the Church. According to an article in the Harvard University Press and edited by Anthony Grafton, “Jesuits” The Classical Tradition, Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuits and received approval from Pope Paul III by 1540. The group of Jesuits were an organized group of priests and lay brothers who spread the word of God around the world. Along with spreading the written word they also followed the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. The Jesuits main purpose was to practice and then teach the lessons of God to people who did not know about Christianity, that included Japan, China, Paraguay and North America. With these new missionaries traveling across the world, they were able to convert many people to Catholicism, and gain back the followers the church had lost during the Protestant-Reformation in Europe. …show more content…

Since Jesuit men took on the vow of chastity they had no obligations to take care of a family therefore, they were able to spread Catholicism effectively and rapidly across the world. Another example of the Jesuits’ part in the Counter-Reformation, was that schools were built in order to help Jesuits teach the word of the Lord. According to Classical tradition, the first Jesuits college was founded in 1547 called Messina. There were also 800 secondary schools for students who desired to learn about the service life. Since most of the Catholic church lost many of their followers in the north of Europe, converting Protestants back to Catholicism proved to be a much harder task than gaining new followers from across the world. Nevertheless Jesuits were a key role in the Counter-Reformation by being the voice of the Catholic church across the