Archive for the ‘History’ Category

The missionary strategies used by the Jesuits in China constitute an advanced and effective model for the enculturalization of Christianity. This is what emerged, in brief, from a presentation held in May at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome by Jesuit Father Klaus Schatz, a professor of church history at the St. George’s Philosophical and Theological School in Frankfurt.

Fr. Schatz’s presentation was part of a series of conferences on the theme of “Conversion: A Change of God? Experiences and Reflections on Interreligious Dialogue”, launched by the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies of Religion and Culture (ISIRC) at the Gregorian University.

Speaking on the Chinese mission founded by Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci and carried out in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, Schatz stressed that the scope of the Jesuits, in the beginning, was aimed at earning credit with the upper echelons of society. They wanted to gain the trust of the court and the emperor, who were the ones who shaped an official interpretation of religious rites. The novelty of Christianity, presented by the Jesuits to the Chinese, was that every man can have a direct and immediate relationship with God. This was a message unheard of in a country where only the emperor could make sacrifices to heaven.

Ultimately, their mission had a much farther reach. Korea is a unique example in the history of Christianity of a local church starting not through preaching, or direct personal contact with missionaries or Christians, but through literature. Here, the Christian faith got on its feet towards the end of the 18th century because a group of Koreans read Ricci’s book on the teaching of the Lord.

H2onews, a Catholic news service that distributes multimedia in nine languages, has more on Schatz’s presentation at the Pontifical Gregorian University here.

A prolific writer and the cultural editor for America Magazine, Jesuit Father James Martin also frequently contributes to the Huffington Post‘s Religion section. There, Fr. Martin shared a recent video from his own DVD series on the life of the saints where he explains the religious conversion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, and his lasting contributions to those seeking spiritual guidance and a closer relationship with God.

You can watch it here:

A prolific writer and the cultural editor for America Magazine, Jesuit Father James Martin also frequently contributes to the Huffington Post‘s Religion section. There, Fr. Martin shared a recent video from his own DVD series on the life of the saints where he explains the religious conversion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, and his lasting contributions to those seeking spiritual guidance and a closer relationship with God.

You can watch it here:

An exhibition dedicated to Father Eusebio Francesco Kino, who is considered a “bold minded missionary, indomitable spirit and adventurous heart” will be open until June 30 at the Francisco Xavier Clavijero library at Iberoamericana University in Mexico City. According to the General Curia of the Jesuits, the exhibition will celebrate the 300th anniversary of Father Kino’s death (1645-1711).

Over 100 documents are exhibited, including manuscripts, letters, books, maps and objects owned by the archives of the Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus, Iberoamericana University, individuals and governments of the states of Sonora and Baja California. Father Kino also known as the Father of Pimería Alta, which is a region that included what is today the State of Sonora (Mexico) and southern Arizona. He is considered one of the most important evangelists of the Society of Jesus in America. He was a geographer, explorer, cartographer, writer, committed to improving the living conditions of indigenous peoples and respect for indigenous rights. In 1975 a statue in his honor was placed in the U.S. Capitol in the National Statuary Hall, the national pantheon of Great Americans.

[The General Curia]

In 1551, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, established established a “School of Grammar, Humanity and Christian Doctrine” in Rome. Initially called the “Roman College”, it soon became the Gregorian University and was the first university founded by the Jesuits. Containing faculties and institutes of various disciplines of the humanities, the Gregorian, also known as “The Greg” has one of the largest theology departments in the world, with over 1,600 students from over 130 countries. St. Ignatius envisioned a “university of all nations, for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the training of wise and qualified leaders of the Church and society.”

Today, the Gregorian is part of a larger consortium consisting of three schools serving more than 3,800 students: The Pontifical Gregorian University, The Pontifical Biblical Institute and The Pontifical Oriental Institute for Eastern Christian Studies.

In the United States, the Gregorian University Foundation was established in 1972 to raise the needed funds for scholarships, academic chairs, libraries and capital improvements for the Pontifical Gregorian University Consortium.

In this month’s National Jesuit News podcast, we talk with the foundation’s vice president, Geoff Loftus, on what the Gregorian University provides to the Church and the legacy and impact of its scholars and students.