THE REFORMING POPES
The rapid spread of Protestantism soon brought about a Catholic Counter Reformation in those parts of Europe which remained faithful to Rome. The popes now turned from the cultivation of Renaissance art and literature to the defense of their threatened faith. They made needed changes in the papal court and appointed to ecclesiastical offices men distinguished for virtue and learning. This reform of the Papacy dates from the time of Paul III, who became pope in 1534 A.D. He opened the college of cardinals to Roman Catholic reformers, even offering a seat in it to Erasmus. Still more important was his support of the famous Society of Jesus, which had been established in the year of his accession to the papal throne.
ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA, 1491-1556 A.D.
The founder of the new society was a Spanish nobleman, Ignatius Loyola. He had seen a good deal of service in the wars of Charles V against the French. While in a hospital recovering from a wound Loyola read devotional books, and these produced a profound change within him. He now decided to abandon the career of arms and to become, instead, the knight of Christ. So Loyola donned a beggar's robe, practiced all the kinds of asceticism which his books described, and went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The turning-point of his career came with his visit to Paris to study theology. Here Loyola met the six devout and talented men who became the first members of his society. They intended to work as missionaries among the Moslems, but, when this plan fell through, they visited Rome and placed their energy and enthusiasm at the disposal of the pope.
[Illustration: ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA]
THE SOCIETY OF JESUS
Loyola's military training deeply affected the character of the new order. The Jesuits, as their Protestant opponents styled them, were to be an army of spiritual soldiers, living under the strictest obedience to their head, or general. Like soldiers, again, they were to remain in the world, and there fight manfully for the Church and against heretics. The society grew rapidly; before Loyola's death it included over a thousand members; and in the seventeenth century it became the most influential of all the religious orders. [21] The activity of the Jesuits as preachers, confessors, teachers, and missionaries did much to roll back the rising tide of Protestantism in Europe.
JESUIT SCHOOLS
The Jesuits gave special attention to education, for they realized the importance of winning over the young people to the Church. Their schools were so good that even Protestant children often attended them. The popularity of Jesuit teachers arose partly from the fact that they always tried to lead, not drive their pupils. Light punishments, short lessons, many holidays, and a liberal use of prizes and other distinctions formed some of the attractive features of their system of training. It is not surprising that the Jesuits became the instructors of the Roman Catholic world. They called their colleges the "fortresses of the faith."