Today, the Society of Jesus is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in countries. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian works, and promote ecumenical dialogue. The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna della Strada , a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary , and it is led by a superior general.
Members of the Society of Jesus make profession of "perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience" and "promise a special obedience to the sovereign pontiff in regard to the missions. Ignatius, its leading founder, was a nobleman who had a military background. The opening lines of the founding document of the Society of Jesus accordingly declare that it was founded for "whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God, [ a ] to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith, and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine".
Jesuit missionaries established missions around the world from the 16th to the 18th century and had both successes and failures in Christianizing the native peoples.
The Jesuits have always been controversial within the Catholic Church and have frequently clashed with secular governments and institutions. Beginning in , the Catholic Church expelled Jesuits from most countries in Europe and from European colonies.
Pope Clement XIV officially suppressed the order in In , the Church lifted the suppression. Ignatius of Loyola , a Basque nobleman from the Pyrenees area of northern Spain, founded the society after discerning his spiritual vocation while recovering from a wound sustained in the Battle of Pamplona.
