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Jesuits
Euro-Mediterranean Province of the Society of Jesus

Ignatian Spirituality

Jesuits Ignatian Spirituality

Following in his footsteps

Companions of Jesus, or more precisely, His friends. Not an idea or a concept. Not even an ideal. Rather an intimate relationship with Him, where you discover day by day that you can trust Him and that He trusts you, because He knows exactly who you are. It is through this deep “listening and feeling with Christ” that our vocation to be Companions of Jesus is revealed.

The Spiritual Exercises are our way of encountering the Risen One:

View the calendar of Spiritual Exercises

Wherever He takes us

Friends of the Lord, friends of the poor. As Christ carries His cross He makes us aware of every kind of thirst that afflicts humanity. And He leads us to recognize that, deep within us, we too have the same needs. Poverty, in all its forms, generates violence against human dignity. Ignatius and his companions felt the urgency of reaching out to the least and excluded, at the peripheries, as well as at the center of society. To this day we seek to view the world through the eyes of the poor and marginalized, learning from them and working for them and with them.

Find out how we work with the poor and the excluded

Free as the wind

Our relationship with the Lord sets us free. Free to come out of our shells and encounter others. Free to give all that we’ve got, without holding anything back. Free even to make mistakes. Because love lives on, love perseveres. This is what we experience with Him, repeatedly enveloped in His forgiving embrace, even when we turn away from Him. This is how we try to relate to people. Free, not to do what we want, rather, free to love. Indeed, as He loves us.

Ignatius’ journey to become a free man holds the elements of Jesuit spirituality.

Read the story of Ignatius
Our founder

Ignatius of Loyola, the founder

“He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself”

A religious priestly order

The Society of Jesus

In 1540 Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus to help others find God in their life. From the first 10 companions, today there are more than 16,000 Jesuits in 100 countries. Each Jesuit is called to live the vows of obedience, for the greater good of others; chastity, as unselfish relationships; and poverty, by aiming for the essential.

Father General Arturo Sosa during a solemn celebration with other Jesuits

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