The Jesuits
Other names:
Society of Jesus, The Company of Jesus, The Company
Year of origin:
1540 Papal bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae ("To the Government of the Church Militant")
Founder(s):
Francis Borja & Ignatius of Loyola
Headquarters:
Church of the Gesù, Rome
Head of Organization: Superior General
Current Leader:
Arturo Sosa
Members:
As of 1 January, 2022, there were 14,439 Jesuits in the world. They were broken down as follows: 583 novices, 2,587 scholastics, 837 brothers and 10,432 priests.
According to following official Jesuit website.
https://www.jesuits.global/2022/03/23/the-society-of-jesus-in-numbers-2022-edition/
Foundation
The Jesuits were founded initially as The Company of Jesus on “Assumption Day” August 15, 1534, in a secret ceremony in the crypt of the Chapel of St. Denis by Ignatius of Loyola (born Íñigo López de Loyola) and Francisco Xavier, Alfonso Salmeron, Diego Laínez, and Nicolás Bobadilla all from Spain, Peter Faber from Savoy in France, and Simão Rodrigues from Portugal. The formation was approved by Francis Borja, of the infamous “Borja” also known as Borgia/Borga, Duke of Grandia, grandson of Pope Alexander VI and the patron of Ignatius of Loyola. Francis Borja was the principle financier and architect in the formalization of the Jesuits into the first dedicated military order of monks of the Catholic Church. He was also responsible for securing the Papal Bull Regimini militantis (September 27, 1540) from Borja family friend Alessandro Farnese Pope Paul III which first gave the Jesuits official status as an order.
Ignatius of Loyola first came to the attention of the young Duke of Grandia by 1529 after Ignatius was again arrested by the Inquisition for practicing extreme religious devotion. Borja saw potential in the extreme military based devotion being preached by Ignatius of Loyola and his desire to establish an order of military monks. It was the young Borja who saved the life of Ignatius from the Inquisition. At the death of Ignatius in 1557, Francis Borja was expected to be the second Superior General. However, his ambitions were hampered firstly by arch-enemy Giovanni Pietro Carafa as Pope Paul IV (1555-1559). Carafa had been one of the greatest enemies of Borja Pope Alexander VI and immediately nominated Diego Laynez (James Lainez) as Superior
General.
Pope Paul IV died in August of 1559 and was replaced by Giovanni Angelo de’ Medici (Pope Pius IV). In both cases, Jesuit Superior General Diego Laynez aligned himself closely making him virtually untouchable.
However, after Pope Pius IV rounded up and tortured and murdered Benedetto Accolti and other members of Papal families in an alleged failed plot, Cardinal Borja made his move and Pius IV was poisoned to death on December 9, 1565. A
few days later, Superior General Diego Laynez suffered the same fate and soon after Cardinal Francis Borja was unanimously elected the third Superior General.
Unique features of the Jesuit Military Order
Borja strengthened the already substantial powers of the Jesuit Superior General to be greater than any other Order in
the history of the Catholic Church.
While technically monks, the Constitution of the Order was unique in that it exempted priests from the cloisted rule (i.e.
living in monasteries). Instead, Jesuit monks were to live “in the world”. Only the Dominican Priests who were the chief
torturers of the Inquisition and the Catholic Church at the time had anything like such freedoms.However, the Jesuit Constitution from the very beginning went even further in that it permitted and even encouraged the priests not to wear the habit (traditional monk dress) so that they would “blend in” to the world.
Borja secured a Papal Bull from Pope Paul III in 1545 permitting the Jesuits to preach, hear confession, dispense the sacraments and say mass without having to refer to a bishop- effectively placing them outside the control of the regional clergy.
In addition, Borja amended the Constitution of the Jesuit Military Order even further when he bestowed powers to the
office of the Superior General of the Jesuits second only to the Pope. By its own constitution from 1565 (and which remains in force even today), the Superior General can absolve priests and new recruits of all their sins, even the sin of heresy and schism, the falsification of apostolic writings. Further, the Superior Generals from the time of Borja onwards had the “official” power by Papal Bull and its by-laws to reverse sentences of excommunication, suspension or interdict
and even absolve Jesuit priests guilty of murder and bigamy.
Unique features of the Jesuit Military Order
Borja strengthened the already substantial powers of the Jesuit Superior General to be greater than any other Order in
the history of the Catholic Church. While technically monks, the Constitution of the Order was unique in that it exempted priests from the cloisted rule (i.e. living in monasteries). Instead, Jesuit monks were to live “in the world”. Only the Dominican Priests who were the chief torturers of the Inquisition and the Catholic Church at the time had anything like such freedoms.
However, the Jesuit Constitution from the very beginning went even further in that it permitted and even encouraged the
priests not to wear the habit (traditional monk dress) so that they would “blend in” to the world.
Borja secured a Papal Bull from Pope Paul III in 1545 permitting the Jesuits to preach, hear confession, dispense the
sacraments and say mass without having to refer to a bishop- effectively placing them outside the control of the regional
clergy.
In addition, Borja amended the Constitution of the Jesuit Military Order even further when he bestowed powers to the
office of the Superior General of the Jesuits second only to the Pope. By its own constitution from 1565 (and which remains in force even today), the Superior General can absolve priests and new recruits of all their sins, even the sin of heresy and schism, the falsification of apostolic writings. Further, the Superior Generals from the time of Borja onwards had the “official” power by Papal Bull and its by-laws to reverse sentences of excommunication, suspension or interdict
and even absolve Jesuit priests guilty of murder and bigamy.
However, both Spain and Portugal in particular were angry at the increasing wealth and influence of the Jesuits encroaching on their profits from the slaves and monopolization of trade.
In response to the Portuguese seeking to restrict the Jesuits in Japan by arming their enemies, General Claudio Acquaviva formed an alliance in 1595 with the Dutch in supporting their merchant ships and trade. In response to the new alliance, the English Parliament issued a charter granting a monopoly on the pirate trade alliance of the East India Company in 1600.
In 1602, General Claudio Acquaviva assisted the Jesuit merchants to gain a 21 year charter of monopoly from the
States-General of the Netherlands to form the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally “United
East Indies Company ( Dutch East India Company).
Using the exclusive powers of the Jesuits to conduct banking and commerce, the Dutch East India Company represent-
ed one of the most profitable companies of history thanks to its control of spices, slaves, drugs and plantations. The Jesuits only lost control in 1773 at the disbandment of the Order.
The disbandment of the Order
While the initial argument of the Jesuits to its involvement in trade was to corrupt and hamper the activities of Protestant
trade, in reality it was Catholic nations who were most upset. Added to the Jesuit woes was the increasing danger to the
Order from its duties as chief assassins. Every time a new King or Queen died under their watch, the noble families of
Europe became more agitated. But it was the Jesuit control of education and suppression of liberalism that was to lead to their disbandment. While Protestant nations lept ahead in commerce, industry and education, the Catholic states continued to lose control. Spain, Portugal, the states of Italy and even France had all watched with indignity while England, Germany, Russia and the oth-
er Northern European states had grown in wealth and prestige.
In 1758 the minister of Joseph I of Portugal (1750–77), the Marquis of Pombal, expelled the Jesuits from Portugal, and
shipped them en masse to Civitavecchia, as a “gift for the Pope.” In 1764, King Louis XV of France expelled the Jesuits.
By 1769, the movement to expel the Jesuits had grown in such momentum that there was a real risk the Papal Estates
might also be taken.
Pope Clement XIII called for a consistory in order to disband the Jesuits, including the preparation of a Papal Bull for the pronouncement. But on February 2, 1769 the night before the Bull to disband the Jesuits was due to be promulgated, General Lorenzo Ricci had the Pope murdered. His successor, Pope Clement XIV, himself trained by the Jesuits, was more strategic. In July 1773, Pope Clement XIV signed the order Dominus ac Redemptor to disband the Jesuits and their churches and assets were seized in simultaneous raids. In exchange, Pope Clement was given back Avignon and Benevento to the Papal states for “services rendered” to the Royal houses.
The suppression took General Ricci completely by surprise but before he could retaliate, he was arrested on August 17
and imprisoned at Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome. But on September 22, 1774 Ricci successfully had Pope Clement XIV
assassinated at the age of 68. Ricci remained imprisoned and died there on November 24, 1775 after 15 years as General.
The counter-attack of the Jesuits
The imprisonment and death Ricci and the Letter of Suppression did not bring the desired end of the Jesuits. The Letter
was valid only in those countries where it was officially promulgated.
Frederick of Prussia recognizing the value of the Jesuits as educators refused to promulgate the Brief. So, too, Catherine
II of Russia forbade its promulgation for the some of the same reasons. At first, some Jesuits became parish priests and
continued to teach in the Jesuit Colleges as before.
Since they were recognized legally as Jesuits in those two countries, the Fathers in White Russia called a General Congregation—The First in White Russia. They elected as Vicar General the 53-year-old Father Stanislaus Czerniewicz. He was a leading Jesuit of the Province and was Rector at the College at Polotsk.
Stanislaus Czerniewicz died on July 7, 1785 and the Fathers called the Second Congregation of White Russia to elect a successor. They elected as Vicar General Father Gabriel Lenkiewicz on September 27.
Two years after his election, Gabriel Lenkiewicz S.J. seized an opportunity to inflict revenge upon one of the Royal houses of Europe that contributed to the downfall of the Jesuits. Reform minded King Louis XVI of France had convened an Assembly of Notables – a group of some nobles, bourgeoisie, and bureaucrats selected in order to bypass the Parliament, dominated by the noble families.
In order to improve the standard of living for the poorest of France and halt growing hunger, the King sought the approval
of the Assembly to his plan to tax Noble families and the Catholic Church for the first time. The plan outraged the Catholic Bishops and the Jesuits were called in from Russia to provide assistance on how to subvert the good King’s plans.
The Jesuits quickly exploited the King’s plan to by-pass the thoroughly corrupt Parliament and began printing pamphlets
and anti-Monarch material stating the King was actually working against the common people, because by law one third
(The Third Estate) of French Parliament were elected from the common people.
Again exploiting the reform minded King’s desire to see change work, the Jesuits promoted open riots and a counter
movement, claiming it was really the people who wanted change, not the King. To end the chaos, in 1791, King Louis
XVI promulgated a new Constitution in which France would function as a constitutional monarchy – providing real political
freedom and democracy for the first time for any mainland European nation.
In response, Pope Pius VI (1775-1799) ordered Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II of Austria to attack his brother in law.
By 1792, the Jesuit controlled Jacobites had captured the King and for the following two years during the Jesuit “reign of
terror” over 40,000 people were executed, mostly without even a trial.
The revolution itself did not at first advance the cause of the Jesuits to see their reinstatement. Instead, it gave renewed
confidence to their ability to topple even the oldest of monarchies and so gave rise to the audacious plan to capture the
Pope and the wealth of the Catholic Church.
In one of the great misdirections and forgeries of history, loyal Jesuit agent Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette known simply to most as “La Fayette” did not simply abandon his loyal troops and influence to hide in the obscure Belgium region of Liège where he was conveniently held “prisoner” for 5 years. Instead, La Fayette was tasked by the Jesuits to take the vast gold reserves of France to America.
In New York, the stolen French gold was placed in the care of the Bank of New York (founded 1784) and the newly formed Bank of the Manhattan Company (now JP Morgan Chase Bank).
Jesuit agent Antoine Christophe Saliceti had carefully groomed the career of fellow Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte for
several years. In 1795, whilst serving in Paris, Napoleon succeeded in crushing a rebellion of royalists and counter revolutionaries and was promoted by the new regime leader Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (Paul Barras).
After his marriage to Josephine de Beauharnais, Saliceti ensured Napoleon was given command of the French Army of
Italy in March 1796 and ordered to invade Italy, specifically to capture the Pope in Rome.
At the same time, the Jesuits through Switzerland formed the private banks Darier Hentsch & Cie and Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch as custodians for all gold, treasure and contracts seized during the campaign.
However, Pope Pius VI arranged his own peace treaty with Napoleon as Tolentino on February 19, 1797. It took the Jesuits arranging the murder of French brigadier-general Mathurin-Léonard Duphot in Rome, to get Napoleon to finally complete the task of arresting the Pope. Six weeks after the Pope’s transfer to the poor conditions of the citadel of Valence, he died on August 29, 1799.
Back in Rome, the Jesuit agents of Superior General Gabriel Lenkiewicz S.J. reviewed all the treasury notes of the Vatican as to the various locations of Vatican gold and treasure, sending it to Switzerland and Darier Hentsch & Cie Bank. In turn, the bank continued for a time to fund Napoleon for his continued campaigns of conquest.
In November 1798, Gabriel Lenkiewicz S.J. died and on February 1 Father Franz Xavier Kareu was elected Vicar General.
Re-establishment and new military orders of Jesuits At the death of Pius VI in August 1799 as a French prisoner, Cardinal Count Barnaba Chiaramonti was eventually elected as Pope Pius VII on March 14, 1800. While initially on acceptable terms with Napoleon having secured a Concordant in 1801 and attending his coronation in 1804. However, by 1808, he was a prisoner of France, not by Jesuit intrigue but by Napoleon now running his own race.
After the disasterous Russian campaign had sufficiently weakened the power of Napoleon, Jesuit leader Tadeusz Brzozowski (first Superior General after restoration) met with Pope Pius VII at his prison in Jan/Feb 1814 and secured an agreement with Pope Pius VII to fully restore the Jesuit Order and grant it new lands and rights in Asia upon the agreement:
(1) That the Jesuits would arrange for the safe release of the Pope upon the arrest of Napoleon (which occurred in
April 1814);
(2) That the Jesuits would not undertake anymore actions against any more Popes and restate their pledge
of loyalty;
(3) That the Pope get back control of the Papal territories and (4) That some of the funds of the Catholic church controlled by the Vatican would be returned.Subsequently, the Society was restored to the world by the Papal letter “Solicitudine Omnium Ecclesiarum” on August 14, 1814.
Various Quotations: Jesuit Order
“My history of the Jesuits is not eloquently written, but it is supported by unquestionable authorities, [and] is very particular and very horrible. Their [the Jesuit Order’s] restoration [in 1814 by Pope Pius VII] is indeed a step toward darkness, cruelty, despotism, [and] death. … I do not like the appearance of the Jesuits. If ever there was a body of men who merited eternal damnation on earth and in hell, it is this Society of [Ignatius de] Loyola.”
John Adams (1735-1826; 2nd President of the United States)
“It is my opinion that if the liberties of this country – the United States of America – are destroyed, it will be by the subtlety of the Roman Catholic Jesuit priests, for they are the most crafty, dangerous enemies to civil and religious liberty.
They have instigated MOST of the wars of Europe.”
Marquis de LaFayette (1757-1834; French statesman and general. He served in the American Continental Army under
the command of General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.)
“The war [i.e., the American Civil War of 1861-1865] would never have been possible without the sinister influence of the
Jesuits.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865; 16th President of the United States)
“The Jesuits…are a secret society – a sort of Masonic order – with superadded features of revolting odiousness, and a
thousand times more dangerous.” – Samuel Morse (1791-1872; American inventor of the telegraph; author of the book
Foreign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the United States)
“[The Jesuits] are the deadly enemies of civil and religious liberty.”R. W. Thompson (Ex-Secretary, American Navy)
“The Jesuits are a MILITARY organization, not a religious order. Their chief is a general of an army, not the mere father
abbot of a monastery. And the aim of this organization is power – power in its most despotic exercise – absolute power,
universal power, power to control the world by the volition of a single man [i.e., the Black Pope, the Superior General of
the Jesuits]. Jesuitism is the most absolute of despotisms [sic] – and at the same time the greatest and most enormous
of abuses…”
Napoleon I (i.e., Napoleon Bonaparte; 1769-1821; emperor of the French)
“All these things cause the Father-General [of the Jesuits] to be feared by the Pope and sovereigns… A sovereign who is
not their [the Jesuits’] friend will sooner or later experience their vengeance.” (1852)
Luigi Desanctis (Official Censor of the Inquisition)
“The favorite policy of the Jesuits [is] that of assassination.”
Brigadier General Thomas M. Harris
“The organization of the [Roman Catholic] Hierarchy is a complete military despotism, of which the Pope is the ostensible
[i.e., apparent; seeming] head; but of which, the Black Pope [Ed. Note: The Superior General of the Jesuits], is the real
head. The Black Pope is the head of the order of the Jesuits, and is called a General [i.e., the Superior General]. He not
only has command of his own order, but [also] directs and controls the general policy of the [Roman Catholic] Church. He
[the Black Pope] is the power behind the throne, and is the real potential head of the Hierarchy. The whole machine is
under the strictest rules of military discipline. The whole thought and will of this machine, to plan, propose and execute, is
found in its head. There is no independence of thought, or of action, in its subordinate parts. Implicit and unquestioning
obedience to the orders of superiors in authority, is the sworn duty of the priesthood of every grade…”
Brigadier General Thomas M. Harris
“I have learnt most of all from the Jesuit Order. …So far, there has been nothing more imposing on earth than the hierarchical organization of the [Roman] Catholic Church. A good part of that organization I have transported direct to my own
[Nazi] party. …The Catholic Church must be held up as an example. …I will tell you a secret. I am founding an order [Ed.
Note: the Nazi SS]. …In [Heinrich] Himmler [who would become head of the Nazi SS] I see our Ignatius de Loyola [Ed.
Note: the founder of the Jesuit Order].” – Adolph Hitler