Abstract
The Society of Jesus was founded between 1537-1540 by Ignatius of Loyola, followed by a few friends (Francis Xavier, Jacques Laynez, Pierre Favre), and was quickly considered as one of the main elements of the Counter-Reformation, which corresponded to a will to renew the Catholic Church after it was contested by the Reformation. One of the most important aspects of the Jesuit theology is indeed the stress on the implication in the spiritual and temporal sphere … In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the secular sphere corresponds to the construction of absolutism (concentration of all the powers by one person) in the European monarchies. This absolutism can be defined more precisely by two elements: the absolute authority of the leader, which leads both to a strong centralization and personalization; the confusion of powers, between executive, legislative and judicial powers, but also between the temporal and spiritual powers. What were the relations between the absolute power and the Jesuits between 1540, official date of the foundation of the Society, and 1773, date of the dissolution of the Society by Pope Clement XVI?
