Jesuits in the United States
The Jesuits in the United States constitute the American branch of the Society of Jesus and are organized into four geographic provinces — East, Central and Southern, Midwest and West — each of which is headed by a provincial superior.
The order is known, historically, for its missions to the Native Americans in the early 17th century, for owning and participating in the Atlantic slave trade, and, contemporarily, for its network of colleges and universities across the country.
[3] Peter De Smet was a Belgian Jesuit active in missionary work among the Plains Indians in the mid-19th century.
He was known as the "Friend of Sitting Bull" because he persuaded the Sioux war chief to participate in negotiations with the United States government for the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.
[4] Jesuit John Carroll (1735–1815), who was technically unaffiliated due to the Suppression of the Society of Jesus, became the first Catholic bishop in the young republic, which prevented him from officially rejoining order when it was reestablished in 1814.
In 1826 he was recalled to Rome, where he became effectively in charge of all Jesuits in the United States, as the advisor on American affairs to the head of the Society.
[6] The American Jesuits were restored in 1804, and intellectually reflected the English Enlightenment, emphasizing reasonableness of faith, the right of individual conscience, private devotion, and active participation in the political life of the Republic.
The restored order "resisted intellectual innovation, distrusted Republicanism, championed papal primacy, clung to the throne/altar alliance, and promoted a Baroque piety that was 'warm, emotional, colorful and ardent.
In 1864, they wholeheartedly adopted the "Syllabus of Errors", an encyclical from Pope Pius IX that named 80 specific modern liberal ideas that Catholics were forbidden to teach or believe in.
In 1838, to raise funds Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. sold 272 African American slaves to plantation owners in Louisiana for the current-day equivalent of three million dollars.
In 2017, the Jesuits apologized for their involvement and announced measures to recognize and atone for the university's participation in the slave trade.
The congregation would later shift away from Black ministry in response to various factors, including racist opposition and threats of violence.
[11] The Jesuits were quite successful in establishing staffing, funding and enrolling students for a growing network of secondary and collegiate schools.
The main goals of the Jesuit education were to inculcate piety, loyalty to the church, and strict adherence to the rules.
[17] A new, consolidated assistancy was created in 2014, called the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, under which all the provinces in the two countries are organized.
