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1 Tracing the Society of Jesus and Jesuit higher education [The] fruit sought in colleges may be spread more universally through the branches taught, the number of persons attending, and the degrees which are conferred in order that the recipients may be able to teach with authority elsewhere what they have learned well in these universities of the Society for the glory to God our lord. —Saint ignatius loyola in order to fully understand how institutional identity, mission, and town and gownrelationshipsaffectthesurvivalof Jesuitcollegesanduniversities,itisimportant to become familiar with the history of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuit method of instruction, and the order’s expansion into the american South. in his book Contending with Modernity: Catholic Higher Education in the Twentieth Century, Philip Gleason provides a justification for understanding Jesuit history and education : “Without understanding catholic educators’ religious and intellectual convictions we cannot possibly understand what they did or why they did it.”1 Such is the case with the Society of Jesus and its founder ignatius loyola. Tobetter understand thelifeand educationalactionsof ignatiusloyola, iturned to Thomas clancy. father clancy (1923–2009), former Jesuit provincial for the new orleans Province, professor of history, vice president of loyola university new orleans, and archivist for the new orleans Province, passed away while this study was in its formative stages. his writing on the Society of Jesus is formidable. he and his surviving colleagues would most likely agree that ignatius loyola is at times a mystery. in his book An Introduction to Jesuit Life: The Constitutions and History through 435 Years, clancy makes an illustrative statement about the life of loyola: beginning in the last years of the nineteenth century there has been an enormous amount of scholarly production and popular diffusion concerning ignatius’ life and ideas. indeed he might be said to be among the dozen most thoroughly investigated humans in history. . . . a veritable library of learned and popular books has been published by dedicated and erudite authors . but the enigma still remains. loyola has never been a popular saint. Tracing the Society of Jesus and Jesuit Higher Education / 17 ThefaithfulhavefoundotherJesuitsmoreappealing....oneofthemostdelightfulthingsaboutvisitingtheProvinceof GuipuzcoaintheSpanish basque country is to discover the extraordinary popularity of the saint among the people of his native country. for the rest he remains an enigmatic figure.2 ignatius’s position as the founder of the Society of Jesus adds a crucial layer to this study. The life and history of ignatius loyola, his spiritual mission, educational experiences , and administrative identity, are important to consider when examining any portion of Jesuit higher education. The details provided here are not presented as an interpretation of his life but rather to provide a historical framework for the formation and spread of the Society of Jesus through the establishment of the new orleans mission and later Province. ignatius was the last of thirteen children and grew up at the end of the moslem wars, a time of Spanish discovery.3 names such as columbus and cortez were on the lips of well-to-do Spaniards. in his youth, ignatius studied the practices of the gentry and nobles.4 When he was approximately fifteen years old, ignatius was sent by his family to study as a page in the court of Don Juan valasquez de cueller and entered a life of both military training and clerical studies. ignatius prided himself on his martial expertise and felt that he was fit for “more” than the duties of a country pastor.5 in 1512, at the battle of Pamplona, ignatius utilized his military training and fought in defense of Spain; however, a cannonball shattered ignatius’s right leg and wounded his left.6 When he was discovered lying in his own blood, the french honored him as a gallant foe, had their doctors operate on his shattered leg, and sent ignatius home to the castle of loyola.7 as ignatius recuperated from his injuries , he read books concerning the lives of christ and the saints.8 These books had an immense effect on ignatius and produced in him a keen awareness of the importance of religious study that fanned the flames of his spiritual devotion.9 once well enough, he journeyed to a monastery in montserrat in hopes of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. ignatius made a general confession and replaced his noble clothing with that of a beggar. ignatius’s pilgrimage to the holy land was delayed due to plague, and he remained in montserrat, where he was to be treated by God “like a schoolboy...

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