Editing Ignatius of Loyola (section)

===Founding of the Society of Jesus===

In Paris, Ignatius attracted a group of six fellow students who shared his spiritual vision: [[Peter Faber]], [[Francis Xavier]], Diego Laínez, Alfonso Salmerón, Nicolás Bobadilla, and Simão Rodrigues. On 15 August 1534, the feast of the Assumption, these seven men gathered in a chapel on [[Montmartre]] and took vows of poverty, chastity, and a commitment to travel to the Holy Land to convert Muslims—or, if that proved impossible, to place themselves at the disposal of the [[Pope]]. This event, known as the "Deliberation of Our First Fathers," represents a crucial moment in early Jesuit history, as the companions engaged in a discernment process that would shape the future of the order.

When war between [[Venice]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]] made travel to Jerusalem impractical, the companions traveled to [[Rome]] and offered their services to [[Pope Paul III]]. In 1540, the Pope formally approved the new religious order through the [[papal bull]] ''Regimini militantis Ecclesiae'' (''To the Government of the Church Militant''), issued on 27 September 1540. This bull, which incorporated the ''Formula Instituti'' (Formula of the Institute), represented a significant moment in the history of papal saint-making and religious orders, establishing the Society as a distinct religious community adapted to the needs of the post-Reformation Church.

The Society of Jesus was distinctive in several ways: its members took a special fourth vow of obedience to the Pope regarding missions, they dispensed with the traditional monastic practices of chanting the Divine Office in common and wearing a distinctive religious habit, and they emphasized flexibility, mobility, and engagement with the world. The Formula specified that Jesuits would focus on "the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine and for the propagation of the faith by the ministry of the word, by spiritual exercises and works of charity, and specifically by the education of children and unlettered persons in Christianity."

Ignatius was elected the first Superior General of the Society in 1541, a position he held until his death. Under his leadership, the Jesuits grew rapidly, expanding from the original ten members to over a thousand by the time of his death. He directed the order from Rome, writing thousands of letters (nearly 7,000 survive) to Jesuits and other correspondents around the world, and composing the ''Constitutions of the Society of Jesus'', which established the governance, formation, and spiritual principles of the order. As research by modern scholars demonstrates, Ignatius's administrative abilities and vision extended to oversight of Jesuit missions globally, establishing schools, colleges, and educational institutions that would become hallmarks of the Society's apostolate.