Ignatius of Loyola & the Jesuits

1. Ignatius of Loyola & the Jesuits Kayla, Grace, and Andrew

2. What happened? • • Most instrumental reform group in the Counter-Reformation [Jesuits] • • Organized by Ignatius of Loyola in 1530 • • Ignatius was a courtier and caballero as he grew up • • In 1521 he started to become religious after he was wounded in battle • • He was impressed with the saints and their self-sacrifice and ways to get over mental anguish, that he decided to be a soldier of Christ as well • • The Spiritual Exercises were religious and moral self-discipline rules that Ignatius came up with while he was recuperating

3. What happened? • Designed to teach one to be able to reach total self-mastery, physically and mentally • • Most protestants saw Jesuits going against the church, but the exercises were to teach the catholics to submit to the church • • The simplicity of these statements won over many protestants back to Christianity (Austria and Germany)

4. Ignatius of Loyola • 1491-1556 • Originally a courtier (advised King) • 1512- began spiritual pilgrimage when he wounded his legs during a battle with France • While recovering he studied Christian classics • Became a soldier of Christ because he was inspired by the self-sacrifice of the Chrurch’s saints • Believed and made the Spiritual Exercises • 1530s-founded the Society of Jesus

5. The Jesuits • They are the members of the Society of Jesus • Believed that Protestants were disobedient to church authority and religious innovation • Turned to Ignatius’s exercises to teach good Catholics to respect Church authority and spiritual direction Symbol for the society of Jesus today

6. How the Jesuits showed weakened religion? • The Jesuits helped create new reforms for the church during the counter reformation. • Their preaching weakened protestants in southern Germany and the area around it. • This shows disunity because the church was falling apart and the Jesuits were trying to rebuild it, by suggesting reforms and stemming the growth of protestants