Roughly three hours after Pope Leo XIV appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Arturo Sosa, S.J., the superior general of the Society of Jesus, addressed a letter to the whole Society of Jesus celebrating the election and reaffirming the Society’s historic availability to the pope.
Reflecting on the Easter season, Father Sosa spoke of the mission entrusted to the Apostle Peter to care for the men and women of the church, noting that this authority is essential “in animating the service of the church to the redemptive mission of the Lord Jesus in all the complex situations of human history.”
Beyond a simple affirmation of the pope’s authority, Father General’s letter called attention to its particular place of importance in the life of the Jesuits. As a young Jesuit in formation for the priesthood, I have joined my fellow scholastics over the past few years in studying the Jesuit history of offering ourselves to the pope and willingly receiving from him the mission to wherever he thinks the Society can best serve the church—something that Father Sosa reaffirmed is a defining element of our Jesuit charism and history.
Before the official institution of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius and his companions were classmates in Paris, desiring to minister in the Holy Land until war in the region left them stranded on the docks in Venice. Deciding to present themselves to the pope and express their availability to serve wherever he saw fit, the men traveled to Rome. It was Pope Paul III who would eventually bless their fraternity and give them a mission, officially recognizing them as a religious order named the Society of Jesus in 1540.
Invoking this memory of our founder and in following his predecessors, Father Sosa told the Society that he had communicated our availability to the Holy Father, offering “our cooperation wherever and however his universal vision considers we can give the best of what we are today.”
The Society’s current Universal Apostolic Preferences were confirmed by Pope Francis in 2019 to serve as points of reference for mission for the next decade. The evangelical principles communicated by Pope Leo XIV in his first address to the College of Cardinals indicate that the new pope shares a similar perception of the greatest needs in the church and throughout the world.
Father Sosa further noted that Leo XIV’s election presents an opportunity for each Jesuit “to renew our thinking with the Church” (emphasis in original). The Latin expression for this, “sentire cum ecclesia,” is found in the supplementary material to the text of the Spiritual Exercises that St. Ignatius offers in addition to the meditations, including the “Rules for Thinking, Judging and Feeling With the Church.”
Sharing a similar structure to the rest of the Spiritual Exercises, these rules seek to inspire what ultimately is an attitude and an approach. This encouragement to think with the church is undoubtedly a call to obedience, but it is far from a cold order to mere compliance. Ignatius frames the observance of these rules as cultivating hearts and minds better disposed toward love and praise.
Returning to the spirit of thinking with the church also serves as a reminder that our life and mission are not lived in isolation. Obedience is not simply lived by doing something for the church; it requires being sent and ministering on behalf of the church and the Society. By asking us to renew our integration of these rules, Father Sosa further expresses the depth and sincerity of our obedience to the Roman Pontiff.
Father Sosa concluded his letter by commending Pope Leo XIV to prayer, assuring him of the prayers of the whole Society and of each individual Jesuit. The new pope’s portrait will hang next to those of Father Sosa and the local bishop in our communities throughout the world. And every day, Jesuits will celebrate Mass together in their community, offering prayers for him.
