Protestants entering Africa in the nineteenth century sought to learn from earlier Jesuit presence in Ethiopia and southern Africa. The nineteenth century was itself a century of missionary scramble for Africa during which the Jesuits encountered their Protestant counterparts as both sought to evangelize the African native. Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa, edited by Robert Alexander Maryks and Festo Mkenda, S.J., presents critical reflections on the nature of those encounters in southern Africa and in Ethiopia, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Fernando Po. Though largely marked by mutual suspicion and outright competition, the encounters also reveal personal appreciations and support across denominational boundaries and thus manifest salient lessons for ecumenical encounters even in our own time. This volume is the result of the second Boston College International Symposium on Jesuit Studies held at the Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya) in 2016. Thanks to generous support of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College, it is available in Open Access.

Jesuits have been in Africa since the founding of their order, yet their history there remains poorly researched. Although scholars have begun to focus on specific regions such as Congo, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe, a comprehensive picture of the entire Jesuit experience on the continent has hitherto been lacking. In a condensed yet accessible way, Jesuits in Africa fills that lacuna. Narrating the story century by century from the time of St. Ignatius of Loyola (c.1491–1556), founder of the Jesuits, to that of Pedro Arrupe (1907–91, in office 1965–83), twenty-eighth superior general of the Society, this book makes Jesuit history in Africa available to a general readership while offering scholars a broad view in which specialized topics can be conceived and deepened.

Based on doctoral thesis, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2007.

An intriguing introduction to Christian doctrine from an African perspective. Using a framework of excerpts from Chinua Achebe's well-known novel, Things Fall Apart, the author introduces the major themes of Christian doctrine: God, Trinity, creation, grace and sin, Jesus Christ, church, Mary, the saints, inculturation, and spirituality. While explaining basic Christian beliefs, Theology Brewed in an African Pot also clarifies the differences between an African view of religion and a more Eurocentric understanding of religion. Very accessible and engaging, each of the eleven short chapters ends with three discussion questions followed by one or two African prayers.

2017 marked the 250-year anniversary of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories. The Jesuits made major contributions to the cultural and intellectual life of Latin America. When they were expelled in 1767 the Jesuits were administering over 250,000 Indians in over 200 missions. The Jesuits pioneered interest in indigenous languages and cultures, compiling dictionaries and writing some of the earliest ethnographies of the region. They also explored the region's natural history and made significant contributions to the development of science and medicine. On their estates and in the missions they introduced new plants, livestock, and agricultural techniques, such as irrigation. In addition, they left a lasting legacy on the region's architecture, art, and music. The volume demonstrates the diversity of Jesuit contributions to Latin American culture. Published works often focus on one theme or region that is approached from a particular disciplinary perspective. This volume is therefore unusual in considering not only the range of Jesuit activities but also the diversity of perspectives from which they may be approached. It includes papers from scholars of history, linguistics, religion, art, architecture, cartography, music, medicine and science.

Walking with Ignatius is a celebration of 500 years of the Society of Jesus, as seen through the eyes of its first Latin American Father General, Arturo Sosa. Comprised of interviews with Father General conducted over a period of two years by Dario Menor, Walking with Ignatius retraces the ‘inner tension’ – both personal and communal – that defines the quest for meaning over the ages: from the time when St Ignatius begged for alms to sustain his studies to a world transformed by globalisation. Menor’s questions reflect the spirit of the Ignatian practice of discernment: unafraid to ask questions and to face up to the challenges of the present, Menor and Sosa engage in a spiritual conversation that covers such topics as the life of Ignatius, the life story of Sosa, the challenge of the unsettling twenty-first century, and the future of the Church. With great care Sosa sifts through the past, present, and future of the Society of Jesus and of the Church. The reader is invited in the Ignatian spirit into a conversation about the future direction of the Church in which the question of being a Catholic is replaced with the question of how we become Catholics. Included is a section-by-section guide – complete with bible references, pointers for prayer, and tips for spiritual conversation – that encourages the reader to embark on a spiritual journey of their own. Intended for those within and outside the Ignatian family, Walking with Ignatius is both an exemplar of spiritual conversation in action and a response to Pope Francis’s call for Jesuits to bring the practice of discernment to the world.

Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) obtained papal approval in 1540 for a new international religious order called the Society of Jesus. Until the mid-1700s the 'Jesuits' were active in many parts of Europe and far beyond. Gaining both friends and enemies in response to their work as teachers, scholars, writers, preachers, missionaries and spiritual directors, the Jesuits were formally suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773 and restored by Pope Pius VII in 1814. The Society of Jesus then grew until the 1960s; it has more recently experienced declining membership in Europe and North America, but expansion in other parts of the world. This Companion examines the religious and cultural significance of the Jesuits. The first four sections treat the period prior to the Suppression, while section five examines the Suppression and some of the challenges and opportunities of the restored Society of Jesus up to the present.

Explores the impact of Jesuit missions on the development of Christianity in postcolonial French Africa, which found itself at the centre of major shifts and struggles within global Christianity and world politics.

Through its missionary, pedagogical, and scientific accomplishments, the Society of Jesus-known as the Jesuits-became one of the first institutions with a truly "global" reach, in practice and intention. The Oxford Handbook of the Jesuits offers a critical assessment of the Order, helping to chart new directions for research at a time when there is renewed interest in Jesuit studies. In particular, the Handbook examines their resilient dynamism and innovative spirit, grounded in Catholic theology and Christian spirituality, but also profoundly rooted in society and cultural institutions. It also explores Jesuit contributions to education, the arts, politics, and theology, among others. The volume is organized in seven major sections, totaling forty articles, on the Order's foundation and administration, the theological underpinnings of its activities, the Jesuit involvement with secular culture, missiology, the Order's contributions to the arts and sciences, the suppression the Order endured in the 18th century, and finally, the restoration. The volume also looks at the way the Jesuit Order is changing, including becoming more non-European and ethnically diverse, with its members increasingly interested in engaging society in addition to traditional pastoral duties.