History
The Jesuit Order, or Society of Jesus, was founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Its specific mandate was to go anywhere in the world to serve the people of God in the Roman Catholic tradition, with a special loyalty to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
There are about 22,000 Jesuits worldwide - priests, brothers and seminarians. In Canada there are about 500 Jesuits - divided equally between English and French-speaking in two juridical regions. The English-speaking Jesuits are grouped into the English Canada Province. Our main works are parishes, high schools and spirituality centres. Canadian Jesuits are also working in foreign lands - India, Nepal, Zambia, Russia, Lebanon, Jamaica, Uganda, to name a few countries.