Fr Mitch Pacwa SJ, the host of “EWTN Live”, discusses at length the foundation and history of the Society of Jesus with Fr John Padberg SJ, noted historian and director of the Institute of Jesuit Sources based in Saint Louis, USA.
The segment, which runs almost an hour, features many titbits of Jesuit history such as:
- Jesuits opened the first schools for the laity.
- Jesuits created the school system by founding multiple schools for the laity.Blessed Peter Faber was one of the first ecumenicists, working with Protestants soon after the Reformation.
- The Jesuits are the only religious order founded by 10 University graduates.
- St. Francis Xavier was one of the first missionaries to Asia.
- A Jesuit named Ippolito Desideri was the first European missionary to successfully understand and study the Tibetan language and culture.
