Congregation of Jesus

The Congregation of Jesus (CJ ) is a women's order to the original purpose of girls' education, founded by Mary Ward (English: Mary Ward).

Originally, the official name of the religious institute Institutum Beatae Mariae Virginis was ( Order code: IBMV ), commonly referred to as the Order, however, was English lady. According to the founder of the name Mary Ward sisters was used. The Institute had about 1,930 members, together with the Loreto sisters about 4,000 in 2009.

Formation

Mary Ward founded in 1609 when staying at Flanders the Order. She took over the rule of the order of the Jesuits. Trying to get this confirmed in Rome, failed initially and Mary Ward was expelled from Rome. Mary Ward championed education for women and was neither a monastic life nor a habit, but apostolic service and public work for their communities. Their spirituality was marked by Ignatius of Loyola and his Spiritual Exercises book deeply. She succeeded during his lifetime in only a few steps to implement their plans.

The Institute founded numerous branches, especially in southern Germany, where now many schools are run by the institute. A bank, for example, based in Neuhaus am Inn, another was in the former Capuchin monastery Traunstein (since 1895 as Mädchenrealschule after Sparz moved ) or in the former Monastery of San Zeno in Bad Reichenhall. In England and Austria, there were already in its early days schools and communities of the English Lady.

The Order was divided later into three branches, two of which were united again under the name Loreto sisters.

Presence

On 30 January 2004, the Roman branch of the order in Congregation of Jesus ( CJ) has been renamed. It is on behalf of a deliberate similarity to the Society of Jesus ( Jesuits ), but the Order is in the spiritual tradition of Ignatius of Loyola since the beginning. Ignatius, however, had in 1547 under pressure from the church-political circumstances and some confreres of Pope Paul III. obtained a decree, which should prevent a female branch of the Jesuit order (see also encyclical Regimini militantis ecclesiae ).

With the acquisition of the Ignatian Constitutions, which was legally possible in 2003, the Congregation of Jesus de facto those community of women who can be described as the female branch of the Society of Jesus. The member shall in addition to the promise of the classic three evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, obedience) and a fourth vow, that of obedience to the Pope, includes concrete opposite World Church under the Pope and the special availability for the concerns of the universal Catholic Church expresses.

The legacy of being the first major teaching order, brings to the institution itself to possess numerous schools and lead the partly preserved and partly outsourced or other facilities to be transferred. The mission of the women's education and a specifically Christian, responsible and elitist education in modern times but still has its importance. New tasks from the context of ecclesial world issues such as the option for the poor, the relationship between faith and justice, intercultural, ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue and the exchange of Ignatian spirituality are fields that are developed gradually.

The Congregation of Jesus sees itself as part of the worldwide Ignatian network in which religious orders such as the Jesuits or the Missionaries of Christ, and lay like the Christian Life Community ( CLC ) or the Ignatian Associates (IA ) Ignatian Spirituality live and out on behalf of the world Church apostolate. The Institute currently has associate members in England and attempted to intensify the collaboration with the laity in different fields.

Since January 2005, a new Central European province of the order, were merged in the numerous small provinces of Germany, Austria and Italy. Seat of Provinzialats is Munich -Pasing. Elisabeth Kampe since 2011 Assistant General of the German-speaking Central European province.

Superior General of the Community " Congregation of Jesus " and successor of Mechtild Meckl since 2011 Jane Livesey.

Monastery study

The monastery took part in the study monastery. According to the results nuns and women in the general population approximately equal in length, closely followed by monks, an average of one to two years shorter life expectancy than both groups of women. Significantly cut off rank men in the general population who live an average of six years shorter than nuns and women in the general population and up to four and a half years shorter than monks.

Spirituality

The lives of the members of the Congregation of Jesus based on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Need to participate in the mission of Jesus in the midst of the world and the people who sacrifice of life for those who need help, the ' service for souls, "as it is called Ignatius, and the glorification of God are the concerns of the community. It's about the availability for the needs of the time and the concerns of the universal Church. The International Institute therefore expects its members a willingness to go anywhere to where ask specific tasks.

Training for the Congregation of Jesus

Accordingly, the major challenge of preserving the availability and the desire to respond to the specific needs of the times and the region, the training is open and multi-faceted. In the center of the two-year novitiate are the so-called "experiments". The most important among them are the 30 - day retreat Ignatius. They are made individually in seclusion and be to look at every day for four or five hours, the Gospels of Jesus, and with an accompanying person to reflect thereby adjusting inner movements and insights. A decision for the unconditional discipleship and " companionship " Jesus is the goal of this exercise. Other experiments take place in social, pastoral and other objects and in different cultural areas, each lasting two months. The training lasts about ten years and beyond in terms of a continuous formation for a lifetime. The Institute encourages its new members as possible to study or to make a similar design and undertake intensive theological studies, possibly at a college or university.

Activities

The great concern of Mary Ward accordingly led the Order throughout the centuries numerous schools and later colleges and universities. In education, the Congregation of Jesus played a pioneering role with regard to the education of girls and women. Over time, the concern of the education of women was also operated by other religious communities, especially the teaching orders and congregations so that the Congregation of Jesus zuwendete also other tasks. Basically, these are today in all areas of pastoral care or social services. The Order is committed to the essential apostolic tasks of the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, a special focus will be on teaching Ignatian Spirituality, specifically the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Today the members of the Institute are working in different fields of dioceses, in parishes, in the categorical pastoral care, in science, above all in theology, the humanities and related fields, and in many social areas, such as migrant and refugee work, the prostitutes assistance and social work in the slums.

Monasteries

→ monasteries of the Congregation of Jesus