The JESUITS

A History from Ignatius to the Present

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Pub Date Oct 01 2014 | Archive Date Sep 15 2014

Description

As Pope Francis continues to make his mark on the church, there is increased interest in his Jesuit background—what is the Society of Jesus, how is it different from other religious orders, and how has it shaped the world? In The Jesuits acclaimed historian John W. O’Malley, SJ, provides essential historical background from the founder Ignatius of Loyola through the present.

The book tells the story of the Jesuits’ great successes as missionaries, educators, scientists, cartographers, polemicists, theologians, poets, patrons of the arts, and confessors to kings. It tells the story of their failures and of the calamity that struck them in 1773 when Pope Clement XIV suppressed them worldwide. It tells how a subsequent pope restored them to life and how they have fared to this day in virtually every country in the world. Along the way it introduces readers to key figures in Jesuit history, such as Matteo Ricci and Pedro Arrupe, and important Jesuit writings, such as the Spiritual Exercises.

Concise and compelling, The Jesuits is an accessible introduction for anyone interested in world or church history. In addition to the narrative, the book provides a timeline, a list of significant figures, photos of important figures and locations, recommendations for additional reading, and more.


John W. O’Malley, SJ, is a Roman Catholic priest and professor in the department of theology at Georgetown University. He is the author of a number of books, including A History of the Popes, The First Jesuits, and What Happened at Vatican II. He holds the Johannes Quasten Medal from The Catholic University of America for distinguished achievement in religious studies, and he has won numerous other awards, including best book and lifetime achievement. He is past president of the American Catholic Historical Association and the Renaissance Society of America.

As Pope Francis continues to make his mark on the church, there is increased interest in his Jesuit background—what is the Society of Jesus, how is it different from other religious orders, and...


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Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781442234758
PRICE $22.00 (USD)

Average rating from 16 members


Featured Reviews

A readable, concise history of the Jesuits. It focused on the society, not on individual people, which was interesting. I was a bit worried it would be rather preachy or overly positive, but it was neither.

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A concise and readable account of the Jesuits from their beginnings to the present day. Accessible and succinctly written, I found it both enlightening and informative. As it’s written by a Jesuit priest, the reader must bear in mind that it might be an unbalanced view of the activities of the Jesuits over the centuries, but I am not knowledgeable enough to comment on that aspect of the book. For an overview, though, I recommend it, and I certainly have a much better understanding now of the Jesuits and their history.

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Brief historical essay on the religious order of the moment, that to which belongs Pope Francis. Written in a simple style, that can not hide the personal pride of those who write against his own Company, extols the merits of the Jesuits and attributes much of the shadows cast on the order to the human envy, lust for power and poor understanding of the world in general.
I'm obviously not able to operate any form of criticism about what is told, so I will only say that the book is well-written, interesting, and supplied adequate bibliography. Certainly interesting.
Thank Rowman & Littlefield Betgalley and for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Ok, really loved this book.

Confession time: I am not a Catholic, I am one of those dreaded Protestants, but I went to a Jesuit college. What can I say, I'm open minded like that. I met some SUPER kick butt priests who were teachers there and I developed a very healthy respect for them and Jesuits as a whole. I'm kind of partial to education and everyone getting one and they are on the same page, so it was a relationship that was meant to be.

This was a very brief history of the Jesuits, but it didn't feel like it was missing anything major. I admit that I was surprised that the Jesuits were ever at risk by outside sources that were also religious, but there was a LOT of politics (still is actually) tied to religion, especially the Catholic church. So it should have some as no surprise to me that the Jesuits, which I find to be rather admirable and less corrupt than most, were threatened and almost destroyed completely due to jealousy and politics.

Though, to be fair, this book WAS written by a Jesuit, so there was VERY little, if any, dirty laundry airing about the Jesuits. It was rather one-sided, but not offensively so, at least not to me. I am rather partial to them. Someone who is not may have a different view of this book.

Also, one of my favorite things is in this book. A suggested reading list AND notes. Though the notes were rather short. I hope it's due to the copy I read being an ARC and that the finished copy has more to the notes section.

A fine, quick read to bring one up to speed on the Jesuits, their history and importance in the world. Much more on the radar now, as the most recent Pope is a Jesuit himself. I would recommend this to anyone curious about the Jesuits and where they came from.

4.5 stars, rounded up because of my predisposition to like the Jesuits. I fully admit it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

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