This week in Christian history: Zwingli marries, George Herbert born, Ignatius of Loyola elected
Ignatius of Loyola elected leader of Jesuits – April 7, 1541
This week marks the anniversary of when Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the former Spanish soldier who founded the Society of Jesus, was elected the first superior general of the Jesuit order.
The Jesuit order had been given official recognition the year before, with Ignatius being unanimously elected to the leadership role despite his hesitation to assume the role.
“A few days later his brothers all took the full vows, in the basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls,” explained EWTN, noting that, from there, “Ignatius set himself to write out the constitutions of the Society.”
“Its aims were to be, first, the sanctification of their own souls by a union of the active and the contemplative life; and, secondly, instructing youth in piety and learning, acting as confessors of uneasy consciences, undertaking missions abroad, and in general propagating the faith.”
