The founding of the Society of Jesus

The founding of the Society of Jesus

On August 15, 1534, Ignatius and six friends vowed to spend their lives helping souls (Zophy). These men traveled around in Europe, along with the approval from the Pope. Which at the time was Pope Paul III, he also provided funds (Zophy).  They spent their time in such charitable activities such as nursing the sick, cleaning, removing garbage, digging graves, and burying the dead (Zophy). The Jesuits would later be established once they went to Rome to offer their services to Pope Paul III, there the Pope appointed them teaching positions at the University of Rome (Zophy). Ignatius (The guy in the painting) was elected as the first superior general of the Society of Jesus. Without him the society probably would not have established such strong ties with the Catholic Church, or even yet would not even been the most influential religious organization in history and changed the life of the Roman Catholic Church (Zophy). According to Zophy, Ignatius had wisely advised Jesuit missionaries to learn the language of the country where they were living. The courage, faith, and hard work of Jesuit missionaries resulted in widespread conversions to Roman Catholicism in Europe and throughout the world (Zophy). 

Source: Zophy.