History of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits)

Ignatius Loyola, founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1540. Ignatius realized that education was not an end in itself but rather a means to lead the student to care about other human beings. The genius and innovation he brought to education came from his Spiritual Exercises whose object is to free a person from predispositions and biases, thus enabling one to make free choices. The goals of Jesuit education have always been to offer this means to become a person of choice, thus inviting g students to be more concerned about fellow human beings.

Ignatius infused this goal into the existing pattern of humanistic education, which included appreciation of the arts, grammar to learn how to read, and rhetoric to express oneself, mathematics and logic to enable one to think. The plan of studies established certain basic characteristics for the Jesuit program, which included a respect for the varying capacities of students.

Today there are 90 Jesuit colleges in 27 countries. Here in the United States the 28 Jesuit colleges (including Georgetown, Marquette, Boston College, Santa Clara University, Loyola Marymount University, University of San Francisco, and Xavier) have over one million living graduates. There are also 430 Jesuit high schools in 55 countries (46 are in the United States). Jesuit school graduates are expected to have made mature commitments to values and should have acquired the self-discipline to live by these values. They should tolerate diversity of perspective and have a critical respect for their own cultural tradition. They should have developed competence in the skills of analysis, judgment and expression. They should be aware of their interdependence with their fellow men and women.

For more information on the California Province of the Society of Jesus go to
http://www.jesuitscalifornia.org