BENEDICT XVI has urged the
nearly 20,000 members of the Society
of Jesus (the Jesuits) to be
mindful of their unique vow of
obedience to the Pope, saying this
was the way they could "faithfully
address the urgent and current
needs of the Church".
In an audience in St Peter's
Basilica on 22 April, he told the
Jesuit general, Fr Peter-Hans
Kolvenbach SJ, and several hundred
members of the Society that
he wanted them to keep working
the "fields of theology and philosophy".
He urged them to help
address a modern culture that is
"strongly marked by positivistic
and materialistic scientism".
When St Ignatius of Loyola
founded the Jesuits in 1540 he decided
that, along with the vows
of chastity, poverty and obedience
that all religious orders take, he
and his confreres would take a
fourth vow to go to any place or
apostolate the Pope wished to
send them. Pope Benedict said the
vow was born from the founder's
"desire to serve the Church in the
most useful and efficient way".

The papal address followed a
Mass presided over by Vatican
Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo
Sodano, to commemorate the
450th anniversary of St Ignatius'
death and the 500th anniversary
of the birth of his first two companions
- St Francis Xavier and
Blessed Peter Favre. The Pope arrived
to greet the participants
about 20 minutes after the liturgy
had concluded. Some 4,000
people attended the gathering, including
many students and alumni
from various Jesuit institutions
around the world. Among them
was a delegation from the Jesuit
private school, Stonyhurst College.

"Your visit today offers me ...
the opportunity to thank the
Lord for having gifted your Society
with men of extraordinary
holiness and exceptional apostolic
zeal," Pope Benedict said. He
pointed out that the daily celebration
of the Eucharist, which
was the "centre and summit" of
St Ignatius' life, was "a precious
spiritual heritage that must not
be lost or forgotten".

The Pope encouraged the Jesuits
to maintain their "long
years" of spiritual formation and
the "important apostolate" of educating
young people.

The Society of Jesus was
founded to counter the Protestant
Reformation and evangelise non-
Christian lands. It operates a
vast network of schools, universities,
parishes, hospitals and
missions. And it has produced two
Doctors of the Church, plus numerous
influential theologians,
scientists, poets and preachers.

However, there have also been
long shadows in the order's 466-
year history.

Pope Clement XIV suppressed
the Society of Jesus in 1773 and
it was only fully rehabilitated by
Pius VII in 1814. And more recently
- in 1981 - Pope John Paul
II imposed his own delegate to
rule the order. He then allowed
the Jesuits to elect a new general
in 1983, when they chose Fr
Kolvenbach.

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