Jesuit Terms

Latin and English version of Pierre Favre, University of Paris student from the south of France who roomed with Ignatius of Loyola* and Francis Xavier* and together with them and several others founded the Society of Jesus.* Much of his ministry was in Germany. There he drew up guidelines for ecumenical dialogue with Lutherans, but these were, sad to say, hardly put into practice. Among the early companions, he was known to be the finest guide for those making the Spiritual Exercises.*

A provincial reports directly to the Superior General in Rome, where the central Jesuit government or “curia” is located. The current “Father General,” as he is often called, is Fr. Arturo Sosa, a native of Venezuela, the first Latin American Superior General in the history of the Jesuits.

Ignatian* spirituality* is summed up in this phrase. It invites a person to search for and find God in every circumstance of life, not just in explicitly religious situations or activities such as prayer in church (e.g., the Mass) or in private. It implies that God is present everywhere and, though invisible, can be “found” in any and all of the creatures which God has made. They reveal at least a little of what their Maker is like–often by arousing wonder in those who are able to look with the “eyes of faith.” After a long day of work, Ignatius* used to open the French windows in his room, step out onto a little balcony, look up at the stars, and be carried out of himself into the greatness of God. How does one grow in this ability to find God everywhere? Howard Gray draws the following paradigm from what Ignatius* wrote about spiritual development in the Jesuit* Constitutions: (1) practice attentiveness to what is really there. “Let that person or that poem or that social injustice or that scientific experiment become (for you) as genuinely itself as it can be.” (2) Then reverence what you see and hear and feel; appreciate it in its uniqueness. “Before you judge or assess or respond, give yourself time to esteem and accept what is there in the other.” (3) If you learn to be attentive and reverent, “then you will find devotion, the singularly moving way in which God works in that situation, revealing goodness and fragility, beauty and truth, pain and anguish, wisdom and ingenuity.”

The novitiate (see term below) concludes with the novice pronouncing his First Vows–perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. After completing tertianship (see term below), the Superior General of the Society of Jesus invites men to pronounce their Final Vows–perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, plus a fourth vow of obedience to go wherever the pope finds them needed.

A two- to three-year period during which Jesuits in training to be priests study at various universities while also serving the ministry needs of a local church.

All the education, both formal and informal, and experiences that a man goes through to prepare himself to work as a Jesuit is called his “formation.