History Dept, Queens College

History Department

History/Religion 345 – RELIGION IN AMERICA

Notes on the Catholic Revival & the Jesuits

            The Roman Catholic Church is the oldest branch of the Christian family. But in the 1500s, it looked like the Catholic Church was doomed.

            The Catholic Church traced its roots back to the origins of Christianity. For centuries, “Christianity” meant the Catholic Church. But in the Middle Ages, around 1050, Christian churches in the eastern Mediterranean, broke with Rome and organized their own, distinct, churches, the Greek Orthodox communion. Now there were two branches of Christianity, the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox.

            That’s how things remained, decade in and decade out, for some five centuries.

            Then, on Halloween, October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, angrily denounced corruption in the Church. Over the next several years, Luther moved from a call to reform to a demand for a sweeping reorganization of Church structure and a dramatic re-thinking of Church teaching. When the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and official head of the Church, demanded that Luther cease and desist, Luther denounced the Pope. Within just a few years, there were three branches of Christianity – the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and now, the Lutheran communion.

            And that was just the beginning. In the 1530s, King Henry VIII of England, desperate for a divorce which the Pope refused to grant, announced that he, Herny, would be from here on out the “Head of the Church of England,” and the Anglican Church was born. On the few years later, John Calvin, a French priest, also broke with Rome but argued that Luther had not gone nearly far enough. Soon, the “Calvinist” movement became the chief rival to the “Lutheran” movement. Meanwhile, other reformers argued that Calvin hadn’t gone far enough; a faction after faction emerged, dividing the Reform movement into a dozen or more faction.

            But what of the Catholics? Luther, Calvin, and the other reformers assumed that the Catholic Church would simply collapse, and that tens of millions of Catholics would rush to join the “Reformed” Churches. They were partly right – tens of thousands of people did join the Reformed Churches.

            But they were also quite wrong. Far from collapsing, the Roman Catholic Church experienced a remarkable revival, and emerged from the Reformation of the 1500s, stronger, and more energetic, than it had been in generations.

            This Catholic revival is sometimes called the “Counter-Reformation,” or the “Catholic Reformation.”

            There were four key moments to this revival:

The redefinition of the church undertaken by the Council of Trent.

The leadership of a series of vigorous reforming Popes.

The inspiration of a whole series of teachers and preachers, many of them eventually named “saints” by the Catholic Church.

Perhaps most important, the extraordinary work of the group founded by Ignatius Loyola, the “Society of Jesus,” or “Jesuits.

1.      THE COUNCIL OF TRENT (1545-1563)

For nearly twenty years, leaders of the Catholic Church met to pound out just what the Church taught and didn’t teach.

The documents agreed to at Trent would define the Catholic Church for the next four hundred years – hence the phrase “Tredintine Church,” meaning the Catholic Church after the Council of Trent.

The Trent documents were filled with “fighting words.” After being severely criticized by Luther, Calvin, and many others, Church leaders were determined to fight back. The agreed with the Reformers that any kind of corruption had no place in the Church and must be rooted out; they agreed too that the whole reason for the existence of the church was the proclamation of the “Good News” of Jesus.

But the Trent leaders also argued that a series of themes and emphases must characterize the Catholic Church, including these SIX:

SACRAMENTALITY Sacraments are “outward signs” that express “invisible realities.” God uses such outward and physical signs to communicate with humanity. Such signs include rituals like baptism, confirmation, and the communion supper. Luther and Calvin argued that there were only two “real” sacraments (baptism and communion); Catholics accepted seven (baptism, confession, communion, confirmation, marriage, ordination to the clergy, last rites) but the real dispute was not about number but about importance. For the Protestants, the sacraments were of relatively lesser importance; for the Catholics, the sacraments were central.

MEDIATION Sacramentality, of course, demonstrated, according to Catholics, that God speaks to humans THROUGH THE MEDIATION of actions, symbols, rituals, and other people. The sacraments – but also the clergy, art, music, church buildings, and the whole universal church were important “means of grace,” that is, ways to encounter God.

COMMUNION The Protestants increasingly stressed the relationship between God and the Individual. Catholics agreed that this was important, but argued that God, in Scripture, also acts collectively, through the whole People of Israel, not just through individuals. Thus, Catholics argued that it was essential for Christians to stay “in communion” with each other, that each Individual ought to think of himself or herself as part of the Universal Church.

GRACE – AND – WORKS Luther insisted that if we are saved, it is only by the grace of God. What we do as humans plays no role at all. Calvin went so far as to argued that whether we’re saved or not is “predestined by God,” and thus totally beyond our efforts. Catholics agreed that we are saved by God’s grace, not by works – but – Catholics also argued that what we DO does indeed affect our salvation, because God calls us to salvation and aids use at every moment but also gives us FREE WILL, which makes us partly responsible for our fate.

SCRIPTURE – AND -- TRADITION Luther argued that we learn of God “only through Scripture,” “sola Scriptura.” The Catholics agreed that Scripture is the great communication from God to humanity. But Catholics also argued that the whole history of the Church – “tradition” – is also a means by which God communicates with us. Indeed, the earliest Christians did not have the “New Testament” (it was being written!) and didn’t agree on which books to include in the Bible until the 400s, yet these early Christians obviously shared the life of God. Thus “tradition” ought to be linked to “scripture.”

FAITH – AND -- REASON We are saved by grace through faith – here Catholics and Protestants agreed. But – Catholics argued that faith is not “unreasonable.” Human reason is important, and can and should supplement Faith.

2.      REFORMING POPES

The Council of Trend clearly spelled out what the Catholic Church taught. A series of reforming Popes not only implement Trent’s goals, but ensured that the sort of corruption that had rightly outraged Luther and Calvin was purged from the Church.

Three were especially important:

(a)    Paul III (1534-49)

(b)   Pius IV (1559-1565)

(c)    Pius V (1566-72).

All three proved to be competent administrators and honest leaders. But, while their leadership at the top was important, far more important was what went on at the grass roots.

What went on was a remarkable grass-roots revival of Catholicism, inspired and lead by a whole generation of remarkable figures.

3.      SAINTS.

“Saints” are not sinless people. “Saints” are sinners who are, despite their sin, used by God for God’s purposes. In the 1500s and 1600s, a number of fervent Christians took the lead at the grassroots level in reviving the Catholic Church, and eventually, all were officially named “saints.” Here are a few of them:

Philip Neri (1515-95)

Italian; Roman street preacher; creates "Prayer Centers" ("Oratories"); 1564: Society of Oratorians; Ministry: Bible study & pray groups for the laity. Flamboyant and eccentric, Neri was Rome’s greatest Catholic “revivialist” in the 1500s.

Teresa of Avila (1515-82)

Spanish; reformer of women’s organizations; preaching, writing; key agent in Spanish church reform. Teresa was a “mystic,” that is, she could pray for hours on end in an almost trance-like state. Yet she was also a hard-headed reformer and organizer, who created and re-organized a whole host of women’s’ groups in Spain.

Charles Borromeo (1538 – 1584).

Italian; as a young priest, a key Vatican official who led the purge of corruption in the Vatican; as Bishop of Milan, famous for his courageous care of the sick with a plague struck the city.

John of the Cross (1542-91)

Student of Teresa of Avila; mystic; teacher; writer. Unlike Teresa, John had no head for organization. But he was a brilliant writer and poet, and his spiritual poems and books are classics of Spanish literature.

Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Priest; preacher; writer (Introduction to the Devout Life). Perhaps Frances’ most popular Christian writer and preacher in the late 1500s & early 1600s. Francis insisted on the important role of the ordinary Christian; he stressed the role of emotion and intuition in Christian experience; he rejected the notion of “predestination” and insisted that God’s love was for everyone.

Jane de Chantal (1572-1641)

Friend & co-worker of Francis de Sales; ministry to women; organizer of women’s groups. One of her first groups was for single mothers; it evolved into a permanent ministry for and led by women.

There were many others – all of them demonstrated that there was vibrant life in the old Church yet. By the 1600s, thanks to their efforts, the Catholic Church was revitalized and energetic.

4.      IGNATIUS LOYOLA & THE JESUITS

Ignatius Loyola (1491 – 1556) was a Spanish nobleman, and soldier. All his life, he remained a soldier at heart, with a deep love of courage, discipline, and decisiveness. In 1521, when he was 29 years old, he was wounded in battle (and would walk with a limp for the rest of his life). While recovering, he underwent a profound conversion. He left the army, gave away all his worldly possessions, and went off to live all alone in a cave. He became convinced that he was called to the ministry, and so, in his 30s, he went off to Paris to study. Among other things, he needed to learn Latin, so he’d attend grammar-school Latin class and sit on a bench with 9-year olds reciting their verbs and nouns.

While studying, Ignatius started a Bible study and prayer group. He and a dozen or so friends would meet regularly and this group decided to form a fellowship they called the “Company of Jesus” – the English-language version usually translates the military-sounding word “company” into the milder term, “society.”

Ignatius wanted this newly formed “Society of Jesus” – or “Jesuits” – to be a fellowship of Christian men who would be organized and discipline like soldiers, who would be on call to undertake any ministry anywhere.

Though serious and sober by nature, Ignatius became famous as a revival leader. His notes on conducting retreats and revivals – The Spiritual Exercises – became a class in Christian spiritual literature.

The Spiritual Exercises:

Is a handbook, not a story. It’s meant, like any handbook, not be read, but to be the basis for action

Is based on Ignatius’s conversion experience.

Stresses “exercises,” that is, actions, rather than doctrines.

While teachings are important – Ignatius had great regard for the human intellect – the Exercises stress NOT COGNITION BUT IMAGINATION.

Ignatius insisted that IMAGINATION WAS JUST AS IMPORTANT TO THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AS LOGIC AND REASON.

The aim of the Exercises to inspire the imagination so that the person performing the exercises can encounter God.

Ignatius and the handful of Jesuits quickly attracted more and more members to their fellowship, and two, quite different qualities, came to characterize these first Jesuits:

(a)    SOLDIER-LIKE VIRTUES: Ignatius wanted his Jesuits to be like crack troops – brave, loyal, adventurous, and bold.

(b)   SCHOLAR-ARTIST SOLDIERS: at the same time, Ignatius insisted that his Jesuits be scholars and artists, linguists and scientists, writers and poets. These early Jesuits played a key role in everything from linguistics (to transmit the Gospel they learned language after language) to science (they wanted to understand science as well as the best scientists) to teaching (they set up schools wherever they went).

The early Jesuits were quite remarkable people. Here are a few of them:

Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)

Basque; nobility; Chivalric ideals; 1521: wounded in battle; spiritual crisis, 1522-23 Manresa; 1524-35, study, writing (accused of heresy!); 1534, MA degree; 1543, organizes COMPANY OF JESUS in Paris with handful of friends; 1537, ordained; 1540, Pope Paul III approves organization; Ministry: lead church reform; lead missions in new worlds

Francis Xavier (1506-52)

Basque; meets Loyola in Paris; one of first seven Jesuits; 1541: sent to Asia; India & immediately criticizes Portuguese behavior; travels across Asia, including Japan (1549-51); founds prayer groups, churches, schools, hospitals; appeals directly to poor; discovers huge interest in West, in Christianity; becomes focus of miracle-stories; 1552, dies on the way to China CHRISTIANITY IS NOT IDENTICAL WITH WESTERN CULTURE.

Matteo Ricci (1552-1610)

Italian scholar-priest; to China; becomes "Chinese;" effort to translate Christianity from European culture to Chinese Culture

Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649)

French; 2^nd generation of Jesuits; mission to Canada; lives with Hurons for 20+ years; hope: "Huronia" – independent, Christian, Huron nation; English & Iroquois attack Hurons; martyrdom

Roberto de Nobili (d. 1656)

Italian; mission to India; adopts Indian culture; masters Sanskrit, Tamil, etc.;

The Jesuit "Reductions" in Paraguay

1515: Spaniards sail into the La Plata territory, move inland. Local Indians quickly become targets of slave-traders. 1609, Jesuits enter the territory, quickly ally themselves with the Indians. Aim: conversion, but also education, health, housing, crafts. Jesuits organize "Reductions," mission-communities run by the Jesuits, housing the Indians. By 1630, some 10,000 Indian Christians live in the Reductions. Jesuits insist on right of Indians to self-defense; Jesuits arm Indians so they can defend themselves from slave-traders. By 1750, the Reductions are a virtual "Indian State" including some 80,000 people. The are increasingly well-educated, healthier, better-housed – and better armed – than they had been. Both the Spanish and Portugese governments become very hostile to the Reductions. In 1750, they’re destroyed.

Undergraduate Programs McColl Graduate School of Business Graduate and Adult Education
Queens University of Charlotte Current Students Site Map Contact Webmaster

Queens University of Charlotte 1900 Selwyn Avenue Charlotte, NC 28274
Modified by: H. Kamerling

SACRAMENTALITY	Sacraments are “outward signs” that express “invisible realities.” God uses such outward and physical signs to communicate with humanity. Such signs include rituals like baptism, confirmation, and the communion supper. Luther and Calvin argued that there were only two “real” sacraments (baptism and communion); Catholics accepted seven (baptism, confession, communion, confirmation, marriage, ordination to the clergy, last rites) but the real dispute was not about number but about importance. For the Protestants, the sacraments were of relatively lesser importance; for the Catholics, the sacraments were central.
MEDIATION	Sacramentality, of course, demonstrated, according to Catholics, that God speaks to humans THROUGH THE MEDIATION of actions, symbols, rituals, and other people. The sacraments – but also the clergy, art, music, church buildings, and the whole universal church were important “means of grace,” that is, ways to encounter God.
COMMUNION	The Protestants increasingly stressed the relationship between God and the Individual. Catholics agreed that this was important, but argued that God, in Scripture, also acts collectively, through the whole People of Israel, not just through individuals. Thus, Catholics argued that it was essential for Christians to stay “in communion” with each other, that each Individual ought to think of himself or herself as part of the Universal Church.
GRACE – AND – WORKS	Luther insisted that if we are saved, it is only by the grace of God. What we do as humans plays no role at all. Calvin went so far as to argued that whether we’re saved or not is “predestined by God,” and thus totally beyond our efforts. Catholics agreed that we are saved by God’s grace, not by works – but – Catholics also argued that what we DO does indeed affect our salvation, because God calls us to salvation and aids use at every moment but also gives us FREE WILL, which makes us partly responsible for our fate.
SCRIPTURE – AND -- TRADITION	Luther argued that we learn of God “only through Scripture,” “sola Scriptura.” The Catholics agreed that Scripture is the great communication from God to humanity. But Catholics also argued that the whole history of the Church – “tradition” – is also a means by which God communicates with us. Indeed, the earliest Christians did not have the “New Testament” (it was being written!) and didn’t agree on which books to include in the Bible until the 400s, yet these early Christians obviously shared the life of God. Thus “tradition” ought to be linked to “scripture.”
FAITH – AND -- REASON	We are saved by grace through faith – here Catholics and Protestants agreed. But – Catholics argued that faith is not “unreasonable.” Human reason is important, and can and should supplement Faith.

Philip Neri (1515-95)	Italian; Roman street preacher; creates "Prayer Centers" ("Oratories"); 1564: Society of Oratorians; Ministry: Bible study & pray groups for the laity. Flamboyant and eccentric, Neri was Rome’s greatest Catholic “revivialist” in the 1500s.
Teresa of Avila (1515-82)	Spanish; reformer of women’s organizations; preaching, writing; key agent in Spanish church reform. Teresa was a “mystic,” that is, she could pray for hours on end in an almost trance-like state. Yet she was also a hard-headed reformer and organizer, who created and re-organized a whole host of women’s’ groups in Spain.
Charles Borromeo (1538 – 1584).	Italian; as a young priest, a key Vatican official who led the purge of corruption in the Vatican; as Bishop of Milan, famous for his courageous care of the sick with a plague struck the city.
John of the Cross (1542-91)	Student of Teresa of Avila; mystic; teacher; writer. Unlike Teresa, John had no head for organization. But he was a brilliant writer and poet, and his spiritual poems and books are classics of Spanish literature.
Francis de Sales (1567-1622)	Priest; preacher; writer (Introduction to the Devout Life). Perhaps Frances’ most popular Christian writer and preacher in the late 1500s & early 1600s. Francis insisted on the important role of the ordinary Christian; he stressed the role of emotion and intuition in Christian experience; he rejected the notion of “predestination” and insisted that God’s love was for everyone.
Jane de Chantal (1572-1641)	Friend & co-worker of Francis de Sales; ministry to women; organizer of women’s groups. One of her first groups was for single mothers; it evolved into a permanent ministry for and led by women.

Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)	Basque; nobility; Chivalric ideals; 1521: wounded in battle; spiritual crisis, 1522-23 Manresa; 1524-35, study, writing (accused of heresy!); 1534, MA degree; 1543, organizes COMPANY OF JESUS in Paris with handful of friends; 1537, ordained; 1540, Pope Paul III approves organization; Ministry: lead church reform; lead missions in new worlds
Francis Xavier (1506-52)	Basque; meets Loyola in Paris; one of first seven Jesuits; 1541: sent to Asia; India & immediately criticizes Portuguese behavior; travels across Asia, including Japan (1549-51); founds prayer groups, churches, schools, hospitals; appeals directly to poor; discovers huge interest in West, in Christianity; becomes focus of miracle-stories; 1552, dies on the way to China CHRISTIANITY IS NOT IDENTICAL WITH WESTERN CULTURE.
Matteo Ricci (1552-1610)	Italian scholar-priest; to China; becomes "Chinese;" effort to translate Christianity from European culture to Chinese Culture
Jean de Brébeuf (1593-1649)	French; 2^nd generation of Jesuits; mission to Canada; lives with Hurons for 20+ years; hope: "Huronia" – independent, Christian, Huron nation; English & Iroquois attack Hurons; martyrdom
Roberto de Nobili (d. 1656)	Italian; mission to India; adopts Indian culture; masters Sanskrit, Tamil, etc.;
The Jesuit "Reductions" in Paraguay	1515: Spaniards sail into the La Plata territory, move inland. Local Indians quickly become targets of slave-traders. 1609, Jesuits enter the territory, quickly ally themselves with the Indians. Aim: conversion, but also education, health, housing, crafts. Jesuits organize "Reductions," mission-communities run by the Jesuits, housing the Indians. By 1630, some 10,000 Indian Christians live in the Reductions. Jesuits insist on right of Indians to self-defense; Jesuits arm Indians so they can defend themselves from slave-traders. By 1750, the Reductions are a virtual "Indian State" including some 80,000 people. The are increasingly well-educated, healthier, better-housed – and better armed – than they had been. Both the Spanish and Portugese governments become very hostile to the Reductions. In 1750, they’re destroyed.