Society of Jesus
Paul III approves the Society of Jesus
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗The founding bull approved a worldwide missionary order — and in the same breath told it not to grow beyond sixty members.
27 September 1540, beside the church of St Mark
Pope Paul III promulgated Regimini militantis Ecclesiae on 27 September 1540, granting papal recognition to the Society of Jesus as a religious order.
The bull was issued at Rome beside the church of St Mark and placed the new Society under papal protection.
Cardinal Bartolomeo Guidiccioni, who reviewed the proposal, had initially opposed adding another religious order but ultimately accepted the institute.
What the Formula said
The bull approved and incorporated the 1540 Formula of the Institute, which defined the Society's purposes as preaching, spiritual exercises, charitable work, Christian instruction and hearing confessions.
The Formula bound the Society and its members to papal obedience, and contemplated missions among Turks, in India, among heretics or schismatics, and among other Christians.
It also set a ceiling of sixty members. That cap was temporary and was subsequently removed.
Recognized, but not yet led
The bull approved an existing group and its Formula rather than convening anything new. After their Jerusalem plan failed, the companions had offered themselves for papal missions, decided to remain a permanent body, drafted an institute, and secured Paul III's oral approval in 1539.
The Society still had to elect a superior general. Ignatius's election took place in April 1541.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources not yet audited
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