<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><mads xmlns="http://www.loc.gov/mads/" xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.loc.gov/mads/
mads.xsd"><authority><topic authority="http://AATesaurus.cultura.gencat.cat/aat/getty_en">Jesuit</topic></authority><related type="broader"><topic>Christian orders</topic></related><variant type="other"><topic>Jesuits</topic></variant><variant type="other"><topic>SJ</topic></variant><variant type="other"><topic>Societas Jesu</topic></variant><variant type="other"><topic>Society of Jesus</topic></variant> <note xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[ A Roman Catholic order for men founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish soldier who experienced a religious conversion while convalescing from a battle wound. It is a non-contemplative order requiring strict obedience, compliance with Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises, and special loyalty to the pope. The Jesuits abandoned many medieval practices including obligatory regular penances or fasts; a common dress; and the choral recitation of the liturgical office. Other innovations include their very centralized form of authority with life tenure for the head of the order; gradation of members; a probationary period of many years before final vows; and lack of a female branch. Jesuits carry out many kinds of missionary work with special emphasis on education; the order has founded many colleges and universities throughout the world. The Jesuits have been leading apologists for the Roman Catholic Church, particularly during the Counter-Reformation. In more recent times, the order has been highly influential in modernizing the Church. ]]></note></mads>