Ad quascumque provincias nos mittere voluerint, exsequi teneamur

The ad gentes Missions and the Origins of the Society of Jesus

Abstract

This article examines the origins of the Society of Jesus in the context of its early missionary orientation, as articulated in the Formula of the Institute (1540) and subsequently developed in the Constitutions. It argues that the defining characteristics of the Jesuit order – availability, mobility, and universal mission – were already present in the foundational vision of Ignatius of Loyola and his first companions. The study traces the emergence of a global apostolic project grounded in obedience to the papacy and readiness to be sent ad quascumque provincias. Particular attention is given to the development of the ad gentes missions as a central dimension of Jesuit identity, as well as to the institutional transformations – especially the establishment of colleges – that shaped the Society’s activity in the early modern world. By situating these processes within the broader historical and theological framework of the sixteenth century, the article highlights the dynamic interplay between missionary expansion, educational structures, and the evolving self-understanding of the Jesuits as both a teaching and a missionary order.