Now, the Jesuit order was founded by St. Ignatius Loyola and nine younger companions in 1540 - about a century after the Gutenberg printing press emerged in Europe in the mid-1450s. Later, the order was officially suppressed in Europe and elsewhere in 1773 - a few years before the American Revolution in 1776 and before the infamous French Revolution of 1789. However, subsequently, the order was restored in 1814. In 2013, the first Jesuit pope, Pope Francis, was elected by the cardinal-electors to succeed the retired Pope Benedict XVI. For specific page references to Friedrich's discussions of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, see the "Names Index" (pp. 833 and 830, respectively).
But the dramatic story of the founding of the Jesuit order begins when the Basque Spanish courtier subsequently known by the Renaissance humanist name Ignatius was seriously wounded in battle in Pamplona in 1521. He was carried in a litter to his Basque family home, where he slowly recovered. As he recuperated, he read a couple of edifying religious books that sparked his famous religious conversion and spiritual journey. In his spiritual journey, he consulted a number of different spiritual directors. Eventually, he began to write down certain spiritual exercises that he had found helpful - and to assist interested persons in making those spiritual exercises. But he also eventually decided that he should improve his formal education. In the context of improving his formal education, he assisted the nine younger companions who made those spiritual exercises and who ultimately became his co-founders of the Society of Jesus in 1540.
For a Freudian account of Ignatius Loyola's recuperation at his family home and his religious conversion, see the American Jesuit psychiatrist W. W. Meissner's 1992 book Ignatius of Loyola: The Psychology of a Saint (Yale University Press). For specific page references to Friedrich's discussion of Ignatius Loyola, see the "Name Index" (p. 835).
Ignatius Loyola's famous book of succinct instructions for making spiritual exercises was translated into English as the book The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: A New Translation, Based on Studies in the Language of the Autograph, translated by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. (Newman Press, 1951). For specific page references to Friedrich's discussion of the Spiritual Exercises, see the "Subject Index" (p. 853).
Subsequently, Ignatius Loyola as the first general superior of the Society of Jesus wrote The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, translated, with an Introduction and a Commentary, by George E. Ganss, S.J. (Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1970). For specific page references to Friedrich's discussion of the Constitutions, see the "Subject Index" (p. 847).
In addition, according to Friedrich, Ignatius Loyola wrote "more than six thousand letters" (p. 113).
Another key English translation is The "Ratio Studiorum": The Official [1599] Plan for Jesuit Education, translated and annotated by Claude Pavur, S.J. (Institute of Jesuit Sources, 2005). For specific page references to Friedrich's discussion of the Ratio Studiorum, see the "Subject Index" (p. 852).
Now, Friedrich says, "No other order in the history of Western Christendom gave so much thought and dedicated so much energy to regulating its internal administration" (p. 21).
Friedrich also says, "The Society of Jesus that [the long-serving superior general Claude] Acquaviva [reigned 1581-1615] erected on the foundation laid by Ignatius [Loyola] and his immediate successors [as superior generals] went on to shape Europe for the next 150 years" (p. 23). For specific page references to Friedrich's discussion of Acquaviva, see the "Names Index" (p. 829).
I take it that how the Society of Jesus "went on to shape Europe for the next 150 years" (roughly up to 1773, when the Society of Jesus was officially suppressed) is the primary rationale for Friedrich's rich history of the Jesuits.
Friedrich also says, "Well over thirty thousand books by Jesuit authors appeared in print by 1773, and a good two-thirds of them had nothing immediately to do with theology" (p. 326).
Friedrich covers Jesuit history from 1540 to 1773 (pp. 1-574) much more thoroughly than he covers Jesuit history from 1814 to Pope Francis (pp. 575-671).
In addition, Friedrich says, "Perhaps the greatest challenge of writing a history of the Jesuits is that it essentially has to be a world history in a nutshell. There is scarcely any sphere of human life, any region of the world, left untouched by the Jesuits over the centuries. No book about them can therefore be complete" (p. 17).
In conclusion, Markus Friedrich's book The Jesuits: A History is a well-informed and well-documented survey of Jesuit history.
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