Seventy-one years after the approval of the Society of Jesus by Pope Paul III in 1540 and 55 years after the death of its founder, Ignatius Loyola, the first Jesuits, the Frenchmen Pierre Biard and Ennemond Massé, set foot in what is now Canada, at Port Royal, May 22, 1611.
"It is according to our divine calling," Loyola had written, "to travel to various places and to live in any part of the world where there is hope of God's greater service and the help of souls."
In 1924, the Jesuit Province of Canada was divided in two with some 130 English-speaking members grouped together in the Vice-Province of Upper Canada, while 428 French-Canadians constituted the Province of Lower Canada. It was in 1939 that the Vice-Province of Upper Canada became the Jesuit Province that is now known as The Jesuits in English Canada.
The history of the Jesuits in Canada from 1611 to 1924 and on through to the present day is a long and fascinating one.
For a more complete history as well as a chronology of important dates, please visit the following: