What is the Jesuit Order?
The Jesuit Order is a Roman Catholic religious order. A Jesuit is a man who has taken the requisite steps to belong to the Society of Jesus, which may include vows of poverty and obedience. The Jesuit Order is the largest male religious order in the world. The Jesuit Order was founded in 1534 by a company of graduate students in Paris as headed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, originally Inigo Lopez de Loyola, a Spaniard from Basque. Ignatius was the son of an aristocrat who dreamed of a knighthood. He felt called by a greater power, however, and was instead ordained as a priest through a commendation given by Pope Paul III in 1537. In 1540, the religious order of the Society of Jesus was approved.
