Summary of John W. O'Malley, S.J.'s The Jesuits

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 Inigo de Loyola, a devout Basque nobleman, arrived in Paris in 1528. He intended to pursue a degree at the university, but instead he became friends with six other students who vowed to travel to the Holy Land together to live where Jesus lived and work for the good of souls.#2 The Society of Jesus was founded in 1540. It grew at a rapid pace, and by the time Ignatius died in 1556, it had established itself in virtually every country of western Europe.#3 The founders of the Society of Jesus, who were all priests, made provisions for nonordained members. They would not wear a distinctive religious habit, and they retained their family names. They elected their superior general for life, and they gave him much more authority than the mendicants.#4 The original ten members of the Society of Jesus were all born in Spain, and they all had a cosmopolitan background. They were also extremely bored with their lives, and they turned to the only literature available to them: The Life of Christ and excerpts from The Golden Legend.