Jesuits in the Missions

The origin of this database is in the Seminar of Readings and Exercises in Church History of the academic year 2021/22, organized by Prof. Paul Oberholzer S.J. in the Faculty of Church History and Cultural Heritage of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. One of the purposes of this seminar was the experience of an archival research for which the participants investigated in the personal catalogs of the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu the biographical paths of Jesuit missionaries between 1640 and 1660 in Goa, Mozambique, Mexico and the Near East. Not only the catalogs of the respective provinces were consulted, but also those of the provinces from which the missionaries came: of Portugal, Spain and France. The intention of this research project is to find and collect biographies of Jesuits hitherto unknown: therefore, data already published elsewhere are not included, but only those still hidden in the archives. At the end of June 2022 there are 96 missionaries listed of whom some have detailed biographical information; others require further extensive research. It is hoped that in the following years the number of Jesuits will increase, which will provide insights into the conditions under which the Jesuits moved in their apostolate as overseas missionaries.
 
The figure «1» in the field of apostolates means that the respective Jesuit carried out in this activity during his magisterium, that is, in an interstice (apprenticeship of an interval of time) between the studies of philosophy and those of theology.
 
A «*» after a date means it is the first or last mention found so far. On the other hand, when the asterisk is missing, the date indicates the sure beginning or end of a destination.