Who founded the Society of Jesus?

Who founded the Society of Jesus?

• A. Ignatius of Loyola
• B. Francis Xavier
• C. Thomas More
• D. Martin Luther

Answer: (A)

Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus. He began with a small group of companions, and with the approval of Pope Paul III in 1540, established the order to pursue education, scholarly work, and missionary activity while maintaining strong loyalty to the pope. The Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions shaped the Jesuits’ distinctive focus on disciplined spiritual practice, rigorous education, and global mission. While Francis Xavier was a key early member and famous for his missions, he is remembered as a cofounder, not the originator of the order. Thomas More and Martin Luther belong to different strands of history—More as a Renaissance humanist-statesman, Luther as a reformer who sparked a separate religious movement—so they are not associated with founding the Society.

Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus. He began with a small group of companions, and with the approval of Pope Paul III in 1540, established the order to pursue education, scholarly work, and missionary activity while maintaining strong loyalty to the pope. The Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions shaped the Jesuits’ distinctive focus on disciplined spiritual practice, rigorous education, and global mission. While Francis Xavier was a key early member and famous for his missions, he is remembered as a cofounder, not the originator of the order. Thomas More and Martin Luther belong to different strands of history—More as a Renaissance humanist-statesman, Luther as a reformer who sparked a separate religious movement—so they are not associated with founding the Society.