Heythrop college this year celebrates its 400th anniversary. Originally founded in Belgium to educate British Jesuits, it moved to England during the French Reign of Terror, settled in London in 1970 and became part of the University of London in 1971. An anniversary such as this calls for a party of course. On 19-20 June, hundreds of scholars gathered at Senate House to reflect on Jesuit scholarship. Among the celebrants were Lord (Rowan) Williams and Jesuit Superior General Adolfo Nicolás. I was invited to talk on Jesuit science.What has been the particular Jesuit mark on science? One thing that struck me was how entering the order gave young men the chance to be a scientist regardless of family wealth or status. Athanasius Kircher, the youngest of nine children from a clerk&rsqu