Structure and organization of Jesuits’ Constitutions (1539 - 1540)

Abstract

This article consists of a discussion about the structure and organization of the Society of Jesus’ Constitutions, based on the Formula of the Institute (1539) original text, with the approval of the definite version interna corporis developed after the papal bull which founded the Order on September 27^th , 1540 (Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae). The text summarizes the intentions, purposes, performance methods and determines the rules for admission and permanence in the Society of Jesus. The rules are characterized by linking management aspects of a religious Order with a definite and subjective perspective so far unknown - when defining methods, rules and purposes of the spirituality of each member of the Order in their particular functions. Besides, the rigidity and clarity of the rules made easy to Jesuits a great internal cohesion due to their members’ quite identical profile and also a rapid and extraordinary expansion of the Order. The Company of Jesus represents, in a very special way, the spirit of the modernity, with its contradictions, innovations and dogmatization to the Catholic Church.