THE JESUITS IN BRITAIN: A timeline

On 21 January 1623, the establishment of an English Province of the Society of Jesus was approved by Superior General Mutio Vitelleschi SJ. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the now British Province in 2023, a virtual timeline has been created by the British Jesuit Archives, and you can see some of the highlights here in Jesuits & Friends. Discover the remarkable history of British Jesuits from their earliest arrival in Protestant England, facing persecution and martyrdom, to their flourishing expansion, establishing schools and parishes throughout Britain in the 19th century and beyond.

Foundation of the Society of Jesus

Start of the Jesuit mission to England

1540 1580

Pope Paul III formally approved the Society of Jesus with the bull Regimini militantis Eccelesiae on 27 September 1540.

St Ignatius of Loyola SJ was the founder of the Society.

Foundation of the English Province of the Society of Jesus

On 21 January, the Jesuit Superior General Mutio Vitelleschi approved the creation of an English Province and named Richard Blount SJ as its first Provincial.

Popish Plot

Titus Oates, who had been educated by the Jesuits, spread lies against Catholics in general and the Jesuits in particular. As a result, many innocent men, including nine Jesuits, were executed, and twelve died in prison.

1773

The mission to England was approved in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII. The first Jesuit missioners – Edmund Campion, Ralph Emerson and their superior, Robert Persons – departed Rome for England in April 1580 and arrived clandestinely a few months later.

Martyrdoms of Campion, Briant, Garnet, Ogilvie and others

Several Jesuits who had worked tirelessly, and often in secret and in great danger, to preserve the Catholic faith lost their lives.

Suppression of the Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus was suppressed on the orders of Pope Clement XIV on 21 July. Ex-Jesuits found work as chaplains, priests, academics, librarians, writers and poets. They also joined societies dedicated to keeping the Jesuit spirit alive.

1794

Arrival of Jesuit teachers and pupils at Stonyhurst

The college that had been set up by Robert Persons SJ at St Omers in 1593 to educate the sons of English Catholics who were banned from receiving a Catholic education in England, had moved to Bruges in 1762, Liege in 1773, and finally to Stonyhurst. The first Jesuit teachers and pupils arrived at Stonyhurst in 1794 after an arduous journey.

1857

Mission to Guyana

In March, Jesuit Fathers James Etheridge, Aloysius Emiliani and Clement Negri arrived in Georgetown in what was then British Guiana to establish a Jesuit mission there.

Mission to South Africa

The English Province of the Society of Jesus was approached in 1875 to run a Catholic school in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. The college and subsequent Jesuit missions formed the first foundations of the Zambesi Mission.

1875 re-entering the Society

Restoration of the English Province

Letter discussing English ex-Jesuits

The English Province of the Jesuits was restored a decade earlier than most European Provinces (1814). This was partly thanks to the influence of Catherine the Great, and also because the Jesuits’ existence in Britain had never had any official sanction, so it was easier to bring the Society back into existence here.

Establishment of Mount St Mary's, St Francis Xavier, St Beuno’s, Farm Street Church

You can read about how SFX Liverpool and St Beuno's are marking the 175th anniversaries of their opening on page 17.

18491842

Establishment of Sacred Heart Edinburgh, Beaumont College, The Month magazine, St Aloysius College

Gerard Manley Hopkins entered the Society of Jesus

The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) entered the Society on 7 September. He made his final vows in 1882.

1868

Establishment of Sacred Heart Wimbledon and Campion Hall, Oxford

Military chaplains

79 Jesuits of the British Province served as military chaplains during the First World War, five of whom were killed on active service.

College students

Establishment of Campion House, Heythrop College, Jesuit Missions, Jesuit Refugee Service, Pray

As You Go, Thinking Faith, Laudato Si' Research Institute

Over the course of a century, the Province expanded its works in social justice, spirituality and the intellectual apostolate.

To view the full timeline online, visit jesuitcollections.org.uk