What are the vows the Jesuits take?

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I think some of the fundamentalist legend of Jesuits derives from the late Jack, who wrote a comic book and tracts. Our Sunday Visitor challenged him to produce evidence that this supposed Jesuit ever existed.
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Yes, there was some dude claiming he was a Jesuit (the Jesuits say he was never ordained nor a Jesuit) that was sent to be an assassin and all that usual junk who served as “proof” of those claims. I can’t remember what his name is.
 
@Athanasiy
also some Jesuits are owning quite costly educational institutions (the private universities)
I agree that universities are intellectual properties but they are made from stones.
US is mighty country and ecclesial elites of some Catholic brenches are from US diaspora, and they sometimes more serve the US interests not the Vatican vision.
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It’s important to know that no Jesuit owns anything really. For example, a Jesuit does not own a car but has access to one that is owned by the Society as a whole. The vow of poverty is also overridden when something is needed for the benefit of their mission (the SJ is a missionary order). These institutions are not owned by anyone particular person either, they belong to either a larger grouping of Jesuit colleges and universities or the belong to the Society as a whole.
 
The fourth vow, the vow of obedience to the Supreme Pontiff is not required, but is almost universal among all Jesuits. The three vows that are required are: chastity, poverty (this one changes per member), and obedience to their Superior.
 
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on_the_hill said:
My dad had said Jesuits were referred to as ‘soldiers of God,’ or something like that, because of their fervor and devotion.
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The common term is, “The Pope’s marines”–due to their history of going anywhere for any task needed, regardless of risk. It was Jesuits who infiltrated England undercover when Catholic priests were subject to summary execution, they were one of only two groups that had significant success evangelizing the American Indians (not co-incidentally, the same two groups as believed that they had full adult minds . . . :roll_eyes:), and have the slogan that any juseuit should be able to teach “anything to anyone, any time, anywhere” . . .

Not all Jesuits take the the fourth vow–they have classes of priests, and the second, which takes that vow, are the ones that fill leadership positions.

I don’t think that, in my eight years in their schools, I had a single Jesuit that was only “very good”, rather than “excellent”, in the classroom . . . (although I hear that one had gone senile and hadn’t been pulled yet by the time my brother had him over a decade later . . .)
 
Could you expound upon the “classes of priests”, I was in Jesuit education for over 7 years, and am currently heavily involved with the Society as I discern a vocation to enter and have never heard of this.

Are you referring to the title “Scholastic”? If so, that’s not a class of priest, Scholastics aren’t even priests, they are those studying to become priests.
 
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Scholastics are not priests!

Some priests take the fourth vow, others don’t. Many of the leadership positions are limited to those who have taken the fourth vow, but ask can take the unrestricted positions.

I really couldn’t tell you what fraction of priests take it, or at what stages the choice can be made.
 
That was a typo, my bad, I meant to write “Scholastics aren’t even priests” but wrote “Scholastics are even priests”.

You stated that they can ask to take the position, but I was under the impression members were not to strive for a higher office…

I’m yet to meet a Jesuit who hasn’t taken that 4th vow of obedience to the Pontiff. I was actually at a First Vows Mass a few years back and this Saturday I went to the ordination of a Jesuit as well! Both have/are planning on finalizing that 4th vow.

We have a novice currently assigned to us who is set to take First Vows in August… I will ask him if he’s thinking about that 4th vow.
 
I am also discerning a Vocation in the Jesuits and I recently read about this in the Catholic Encyclopedia:

The Constitutions talk about Professed members, which are the priests that take the Fourth Vows, and the other three classes of members (Brothers, Scholastics, and priests withouth the Fourth Vow, I don’t remember their name).

All the other phases are meant to be transitional to members called to the priesthood, so all priests are expected to take the Fourth Vow eventually.

It’s true that the Vow makes one eligible to internal positions within the Order, but the Jesuit should still not strive to get them.
 
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Well… a brother isn’t in formation to become a priest, a scholastic is. There are some whose end goal is to be a brother within the SJ.

And, as far as I know, the First Vows taken tend to be nearly identical as Final Vows…

I will ask today and let you know.
 
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