Temporal Coadjutors in the Society of Jesus: Legal and Spiritual Profile

Abstract

The Society of Jesus is a clerical religious order, but it has incorporated non-sacred members and temporal coadjutors, in different degrees of membership, although not from the beginning. The priests professed members constitute the nucleus of the Society of Jesus, and in concentric circles are the formed coadjutors (spiritual coadjutors, the priests, and temporal coadjutors or brothers, the non-priests), the approved scholastics and the novices. In this article, we present the historical juridical framework of the temporal coadjutors, since they have been and are an important part of the history and life of the Society of Jesus, although they are not sufficiently well known because they are less visible. We study the origin of this grade among the Jesuits, its incorporation and legislation, as well as its subsequent evolution. We have gone through the founding and regulatory documents of the Society of Jesus and the rather scarce bibliography. There has been a great evolution in the profile of the temporal coadjutor since the 20th century in practice, that we briefly describe, but not so much in the legal profile. This publication is a preview of a larger research project on the Jesuit brothers, which is still in progress.

1. Introduction: Non-Priest Religious

To speak of religious brothers/sisters is to refer to the majority of the members of institutes of consecrated life. That is to say, the most general and usual situation in religious life is to be only a religious man or woman, brother or sister, without having the addition of the priesthood. Thus, the religious of all women’s congregations are only religious, without priesthood; so are the vast majority of non-Sacerdotal male congregations such as the Brothers of St. John of God, the De La Salle Brothers or the Marist Brothers. Likewise, the military religious orders, some of which are extinct (such as those of Order of Knights Templar, Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint James, the Teutonic Knights, Montesa, Calatrava, Alcántara) and a percentage of the members of the other congregations, the clerical or priestly ones (Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Augustinians, Claretians, Salesians).

St. John of God and many others saints were brothers, including all the female religious saints, beginning with St. Teresa of Jesus. St. Francis of Assisi (one of the most influential saints in the history of the Church) expressed himself as a brother and did not want to be ordained a priest, although at some point, he seems to have acted as a deacon, so it is disputed whether he was one (Callebaut 1927; Muscat 2018). According to St. Bonaventure, St. Francis “estimaba más a un simple y balbuciente hermano que con buenos exemplos mueve y excita a otros a la virtud que a un grande y elocuente predicador que en sus sermones busca no la gloria de Dios y el provecho de las almas, sino sus aplausos y popular estimación, [I esteemed more highly a simple and stammering brother who by good examples moves and excites others to virtue than a great and eloquent preacher who in his sermons seeks not the glory of God and the benefit of souls, but their applause and popular esteem].” (Oviedo 1755, Dedicatoria) although the terms of comparison are very unbalanced: a virtuous and unfit brother and a very fit but not very virtuous preacher.

Religious brothers/sisters (or non-priests) are persons who at one point in their lives decided to serve the mission of God radically and exclusively by following the so-called evangelical counsels, by which they gave the essential dimensions of their person and life to the service of the Gospel. They renounced the personal possession of goods, becoming poor in order to share what they had; they renounced an exclusive and excluding affectivity, being chaste in order to be able to love everyone without exclusivity; and they renounced a full autonomy, for the sake of a greater freedom of heart to live the Gospel message, being obedient in order to better discern God’s plan. This is what the evangelical counsels and the three religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience mean. The brothers/sisters want to follow Jesus in these dimensions, while denouncing the great idols of our culture by which many people are dehumanized: money/wealth, sex/pleasure, power/fame/independence (Ruiz Pérez et al. 1995; Bandera 1996; Uríbarri Bilbao 2001; Uríbarri Bilbao and Martínez-Gayol 2015). The brothers/sisters live dedicated to the radical following of Jesus expressed without the “distractions” of the obligations and social position associated with the priesthood, including sacramental “distractions”, as Fr Adolfo Nicolás pointed out at a meeting of Jesuit brothers in Rome in 2014, who presented the vocation of a brother as an example of “being good” without distraction (Soto Artuñedo 2014).

Statistically, the total number of religious congregations at the end of 2022 was 777,201, of whom, professed women religious were 599,228 (77%), and professed men religious non priests were 49,414 (6%), totaling 648,642 lay people, 83% of all members of religious congregations. Actually, religious life is a matter for lay people (sisters and brothers) rather than for presbyters (fathers or priests). The number of religious priests at the end of 2022 was 128,559, 17% of religious and 32% of the total number of Catholic priests (407,730), although not all of them perform as their main task what we might call priestly ministerial work properly speaking. However, while the total number of members of religious congregations is decreasing, the number of men religious priests is increasing slightly, perhaps due to greater visibility. At the end of 2021, there were 128,262 men religious priests, which means that in 2022 there was an increase of 297 units, mainly in Africa and Asia.1

As far as the Society of Jesus is concerned, it must be borne in mind that it is a clerical religious order, composed mainly of priests. At the demographic zenith of the Society of Jesus (1965), there were 36,038 Jesuits, of whom 5872 were brothers (16.29%). Due to the vocation crisis and the demographic transition, this percentage dropped to 8% in 2014, as only 1331 of the 16,986 Jesuits were brothers. In Europe, there were 546 (almost 11%), and among those living in Spain the percentage was higher, 18% (216) out of 12122.

In 2020 the percentage continued to fall, to 5.32% (974 out of 15,306), and since then, they have practically remained the same, as in January 2025, Jesuit Brothers worldwide were 5% (718 out of 13,768), while in Spain the percentage rises to 14% (80 out of 634), and in Brazil, with quite a few young people, to 16.8% (65 out of 385), although the total demography is in a continually decreasing phase. In the United States, on the other hand, they are 4.5% (84 out of 1855) (Compañía de Jesús 2025).

Maybe some socio-historical-political conditions of the 16th century probably played a part in the establishment of the Society as a clerical order. For example, the Protestant reform that questioned aspects of the “Catholic” model of priesthood; a Catholic clergy that was generally poorly educated, not very vocational, and more interested in the income from church benefits than in pastoral care. To this may have been added Ignatius’ own experience, whose activity for the good of souls, as a layman, aroused suspicion. He understood that, as a priest, he could more easily, at that time, speak of God and help souls. However, this practical element must not have been decisive, for there are ways of helping souls that are exclusive to the priesthood, such as the sacraments, which St. Ignatius and his first companions valued highly from their own experience.

Today, the ecclesiology of the laity and the theology of ministries promoted by Vatican II offer other perspectives, even, according to some, a break with the former, and many of the apostolic tasks cease to be exclusive to the ordained ministerial priesthood and come under the umbrella of the common priesthood of the faithful (Zas Friz 2002, 2003). Hence the Code of Canon Law (Canon 230, 1 and 3) ratifies the term “ministry” for the laity (Bourgeois et al. 1996, p. 251).

2. Results

2.1. The Origins of the Brothers in the Society

Marcos Recolons, after his exhaustive research in the documentary sources, deduces that Esteban de Eguía was the first layman who, without intending to be ordained, was admitted to the group of Ignatius’ first companions at the end of 1536 or the beginning of 1537. He remained faithful to this incorporation until his death, being already formally a temporal coadjutor. Esteban de Eguía can therefore be considered the precursor of the temporal coadjutors, even before the Society was approved in 1540 (Recolons 2015). Likewise, his brother Diego, who was a priest, can be considered the precursor of the spiritual coadjutors. During his last illness, Ignatius offered him solemn profession, but he refused out of humility, contenting himself with the grade of spiritual coadjutor (de Dalmases 2001).

They continued to incorporate lay people to serve Jesuits or the Society, but it was a de facto incorporation, not de iure; they were “Jesuits without papers”, until 20 December 1545, when Ignatius decided to consult about the coadjutors3 to a prelate of the Pope, probably the Cardinal of Burgos, Juan Alvarez de Toledo. The content of the consultation seems to be that of a document from the Biblioteca Capitular de Toledo4 proceeding of the Zelada Archive5 in the handwriting of Brother Santiago Guidoni, Ignatius’ amanuensis from 1545 to May 15466. On the back, there is writing by the same hand, as an epigraph: “De ordinare li Coaiutori per la Compagnia de Jesu”.

This survey offers us the possibility of knowing the three ways in which Ignatius conceived the degree of coadjutor as possible, in general, without distinguishing between spiritual and temporal. The document contains several queries, the first one being about the vows of these coadjutors, in which he proposes three possibilities:

• Who make the three simple vows, for as long as the Society may deem it necessary, without being received to profession;
• Who make two simple vows of chastity and poverty, observing voluntary obedience, it being in their power to leave the Society or enter another congregation, and
• They are to live in poverty, chastity and obedience as long as they are in the Society, without making any vows, being free to leave the Society, and the Society may also command them to leave. This modality seems less spiritual and incomplete.

After the formal request, the Pope’s official response came in the brief Exponi nobis of 5 June 1546, known as the “brief of coadjutors” in which the auxiliary forces of the Society are regulated. Regarding the first consultation, it grants that the Society can have priests to help in spiritual offices, and lay people to help in the temporal ones. Thus, the spiritual and temporal coadjutors were legally established (Granero 1970, 1972). However, in the copy preserved in the State Archives in Rome, there is a marginal note by Polanco: “No es bien restringir a sacerdotes los spirituales coadjutores, y seglares para cosas spirituales [sic, but must mean temporal], porque podría ser que se tomasen seglares para lo spiritual, como leer, y sacerdotes para algunos ministerios temporales” [It is not good to restrict spiritual coadjutors to priests, and laymen for spiritual [sic, but must mean temporal] things, because it could be that laymen are taken for spiritual things, such as reading, and priests for some temporal ministries] (EppIgn I, 171 note 2). That is to say, Polanco (and presumably Ignatius) did not think that the link between priest and spiritual coadjutor or layman and temporal coadjutor should not be exclusive, but would depend on the mission to be developed and their own abilities. At that time even teaching was a spiritual ministry.

Of the three possibilities offered regarding the vows for the coadjutors, the first is chosen in the brief: once they have made their experiences and probations, they can take the three simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, to which they will be bound for as long as [pro eo tempore] the Superior General or his successors judge it convenient to use his ministry. Polanco added in the margin: “Aunque de aquí se collige que se pueden despedir, pareze que debría explicarse” [Although it is inferred here that they can be dismissed, it seems that it should be explained]. Neither should they be obliged to make solemn profession of vows, nor be admitted to do so (MCo I, 170ss.).

Regarding the quality of the vows, the brief does not clarify whether they are private (simple profession) or public (solemn profession), which were the only types of vows known at the time, so it cannot be deduced that they are private vows (Olivares 1964).

In the term temporal coadjutor we can see an advance with respect to those used for these same functions by previous religious orders: converso, oblate, layman. With it, Ignatius dignifies the function of assistant to the mission, making them religious, although not entirely comparable to the professed. Nevertheless, the utilitarian and practical conception prevailed, and the temporal coadjutors could be replaced by paid lay people, so that if there was no one to serve the Society, the superior of Modena was advised to take on any external paid servant7. Ignatius clarifies that it was not more expensive to hire laymen in Rome than to admit coadjutors, since the salary of one was equivalent to the maintenance of the other8. They could even be supplied by slaves. The utilitarian and practical conception led Francis Javier to recommend weighing the advisability of admitting coadjutors, or, instead, to buy black slaves:

“Tambem vos encomendo muito que tomes muito pouquos n’a Companhia, e os que receberdes sejam pesoas que a Companhia tem neçeçidade d’elles; e para o seruiço de cassa, oulhay bem se seria milhor tomar ou comprar alguns negros para o seruiço de cassa, que seruir-[v]os de muitos que querem emtrar n’a Companhia. Isto diguo pelo que lá vy e conhecydos que comigo vierão” [I also ask you very much to take very few into the Society, and that those you receive should be people that the Society needs; and for the house service, I wonder if it would be better to take or buy some black people for the house service than to take them from many who want to join the Society. This I say from what I saw there and from the acquaintances who came with me].9

2.2. The Temporal Coadjutor in Official Documents

2.2.1. Examen

All the previous documents, except the pontifical ones, had no legislative value, so many of them only explored options. The Constitutions closed the exploratory phase and fixed the doctrine when they were approved by the first General Congregation (GC) in 1558. Therefore, these contents do have legal value, although some of these, which are not of pontifical law, have been modified by the 34th General Congregation (1995), in which a general revision was made to adapt the Constitutions to current times and to ecclesiastical common law, and the Complementary Norms were approved (The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms 1996).

To the legislative body, Ignatius wanted to add an Introduction or Preamble to the Constitutions, which he called the General Examen. According to the oldest text of the Examen (1546), which is contemporary to the brief of coadjutors, the Society receives coadjutors for the service of God and of the Society; they enter into this Society of Jesus; they are to have a vow of obedience, poverty and chastity; they do not make a solemn vow to the Pope or to the Society itself; They are to observe obedience to the superiors (like the professed); the vows are such that the coadjutors are obliged, on their part, to live and die in the Society; the Society can dismiss them; the superior can discharge them, not arbitrarily, but when he sees that the Society is not helped by them; once discharged, they remain free of any vow. These characteristics are also found in the text A of the Examen (1550), in which it is clarified that they are simple, perpetual and public vows, but not solemn. The expulsion, it is now indicated, should be, no longer when the Society does not make use of them, but when they positively disavow them. In text B (1556), it is indicated that they are public but not solemn vows (Granero 1972, pp. 10–11).

The text was reworked in the various revisions, and was fixed in 1594, mitigating “service” to the Society with “help” to the Society; it added “content with their degree” with the same spiritual motivation as the drafting of 1546. “Servile things” was changed in 1550 to “lower and humbler”:

According to the text A of the Examen (1550), the usual though not exclusive, duties of temporal coadjutors are

“to exercise themselves in all the low and humble services which are enjoined upon them, […]. They should believe that by helping the Society in order that it may the better attend to the salvation of souls, they are serving the same Lord of all, since they are doing this out of love and reverence for him. They ought therefore to be prompt in carrying out the tasks given to them thoroughly and with all possible humility and charity”

(Constitutions 114, p. 49).

Humility and charity are the motivations for the exercise of these offices. However, since 1550, the possibility of other occupations has been added: “although they may be employed in more important matters in accordance with the talent God may have given them …” (Constitutions 114, p. 49). Therefore, other services of higher quality are not excluded. It is forbidden to aspire to another grade.

2.2.2. Constitutions

In the Constitutions, the Society is structured as a body with concentric degrees of membership, in declaration A to chapter 1, Part V, already in its draft of 1556. At the core, the professed members to whom the proper meaning of the Society applies: “The fourth and most proper meaning of this name, the Society, comprises only the professed. The reason is, not that the body of the Society contains no other members, but that the professed are the principal members, some of whom, as will be explained later, have active and passive voice in the election of the superior general and in other such matters”; in a second ring, the formed coadjutors; in a third ring, the approved scholastics and, at present, also the approved brothers; and in a fourth ring, in a broad sense, they form the Society of Jesus. “All those who live under obedience to its superior general. Thus, it comprises even the novices and the persons who, desiring to live and die in the Society, are in probation to be admitted into it under one of the other categories of membership about to be described” (Constitutions 511, p. 193). At present, only the novices are in probation.

The mission is the core of the Society of Jesus and of its Constitutions (Aldama 1976; Salvat 2007), and the different grades (Olivares 2007) are justified by their relationship with the mission “in view of the end which the Society pursues” (Constitutions 10, p. 25). Although all Jesuits are part of the same unique mission, the professed are “the […] most proper meaning of this name, the Society (Constitutions 511, p. 193), and, properly speaking, the agents of the mission, and the coadjutors are those who collaborate with the mission, “are received […] in the service of God and to aid the Society in either spiritual or temporal matters” (Constitutions 13, p. 26).

2.3. Profile of Temporal Coadjutors in the Constitutions

2.3.1. Type of Vows

Already, from the first text of the Constitutions, at the end of 1549, the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience made by the coadjutors are public vows and received by the superior, but not solemn (they do not entail the mutual commitment, also of the Society towards the subject). They do not make the fourth vow of obedience to the Pope circa missiones nor the simple vows of the professed. The temporal coadjutors cannot be superiors, since the Canon 588 §2 of the Code of Canon Law establishes that, in general, lay members of a clerical institute of pontifical right or of a clerical society of apostolic life of pontifical right cannot be appointed to positions of leadership or government that require the exercise of the power of order, although there are exceptions provided for in the proper law of the institute or society, or in provisions of the Apostolic See10. In addition, logically, the different quality of the coadjutor’s vows has its consequences, some of which are as follows:

• The first one is the interim, at least theoretically, since
  “The reference to the bulls and the Constitutions makes clear that the coadjutors take these vows with a tacit condition in regard to the perpetuity. This condition is: if the Society will desire to retain them. For although they on their own side bind themselves perpetually for their devotion and stability, the Society remains free to dismiss them, and in that case, they are entirely freed from their vows” (Constitutions 536, p. 210);
  The consent of the Superior General is required (Constitutions 208, p. 94), although the interested party may appeal to the Holy See (Complementary Norms 35, Constitutions 100);
• They are not “ordinary” members of a general congregation, nor do they participate in the election of the general (Constitutions 682, p. 339);11
• The coadjutors are assimilated to the professed in terms of the requirements of poverty: “The coadjutors dwelling in the houses will live on alms according to the manner of living in these houses” (Constitutions 560, p. 236).

2.3.2. Qualities

Assuming they do not have the impairments included in the Examen (Constitutions 148–151, pp. 73–74), they must be:

• Physically healthy and strong, of “honest appearance”, good age for the body work required by the Society. Ignatius asks Father Salmerón about an aspiring soldier; in what part of his face does he have a wound;12
• Useful for the Society: “They should also have or give hope of having some good ability to help the Society […] to admit persons who are very difficult or unserviceable to the congregation is not conducive to his greater service and praise, even though their admission would be useful to themselves” (Constitutions 151–152, p. 74);
• Psychologically good-natured and “well-conditioned”, not hard of judgment and will or restless. In a first formulation it was stated “Buena consciencia, quietos, tractables” [Good conscience, quiets, tractable]; be “strenuos”, with some skill, either as a nurse, amanuensis … and not “floxos y para poco” [lazy and for little] (Texto α, P. I, C 4, MCo II, 142);
• Spiritually “lovers of virtue and perfection, inclined to devotion, edifying for those inside and outside the house, content with the lot of Martha in the Society, well-disposed towards its Institute, and eager to help it for the glory of God our Lord” (Constitutions 148, pp. 73–74).

A good conscience, a love of virtue and perfection, a mind inclined to devotion and affection for the Institute of the Society are common to every Jesuit, for no one should remain a Jesuit in the Society of Jesus “in our colleges” without any desire to serve the Lord in the Society. All were commanded to seek devotion as much as divine grace communicated to them, and Ignatius wanted to see in everyone that spirit of not finding “menos devoción en cualquiera obra de charidad y obediencia, que en la oración y meditación; pues no deben hacer cosa alguna sino por amor y servicio de Dios Nuestro Señor” [Less devotion in any work of charity and obedience than in prayer and meditation; for they must do nothing except for the love and service of God our Lord].13 These qualities should also be demanded of the temporal coadjutors, one example of whose love for the Institute we read in the letter of Brother Antonio Gou thanking Ignatius for his admission to the Society14.

Polanco, in its Segunda Industria develops “Las partes de los coadjutores temporales” [The parts of the temporal coadjutors]: They must be free from the impediments of the Examen, of good condition, virtuous, edifying, strong, spiritual, fond of the Society, happy in the office of Marta, healthy and strong, of good age (Pol Compl II, 732–733).

2.3.3. Occupations of Temporal Coadjutors

Although St. Ignatius admits other abilities in the brothers, he determines that domestic work is more appropriate for them (Examen 6, 7, Constitutions, 118, p. 59). At the beginning, the companions themselves did the housework, but they needed to free themselves from these tasks in order to dedicate themselves more to strictly spiritual functions. “De aquí nacieron en la Compañía los coadjutores temporales y en su defecto los criados y sirvientes por salario” [From here were born in the Society the temporal coadjutors and, in their absence, the servants and servants for wages] (Aicardo 1919–1932, II, p. 913).

The occupations, from the text B of the Constitutions of 1556, in a declaration of the 2nd chapter of the 1st part, are as follows: “Cook, steward, buyer, doorkeeper, infirmarian, launderer, gardener, and alms gatherer (in a place where the members live on alms); and there could be others of this kind” (Constitutions 149, p. 74)” as a grape harvester15, washing household/laundry cloths16, barbero17. Nadal mentions other trades: tailor, shoemaker, painter, sculptor, superintendent or business solicitor.18

However, the recommendation of the apostolate of spiritual conversation, which is in the Examen, was not included in the Constitutions: “Even so, in their spiritual conversations they should strive to obtain the greater interior progress of their neighbor to show what they know, and to stimulate those whom they can to do good, inasmuch as our Lord has given care of his neighbor to everyone” (Constitutions 115, p. 49). Neither, the prohibition to preach was not transferred to the Constitutions for those admitted as temporal coadjutors: “Those whom the superior thinks should preach should do so; but among these there should be no one of those who were admitted to become temporal coadjutors” (Constitutions 80, p. 40).

There were some brothers with sensitivity and previous training that allowed them to dedicate themselves to more qualified tasks than the domestic ones. Brother Antonio Gou (or Monserrat), who was a notary and was appointed procurator general of the Society, inserted in a letter a spiritual colloquy on frequent communion.19 Br. Melchor Marcos, former minister to the Dukes of Medina-Sidonia, who was assigned by Ignatius as a companion of Francis Borgia, announced to the Duke of Gandía the death of St. Francis Borgia, in an eloquent spiritual letter20. Juan Cors, admitted to the Society in 1551, was Ignatius’ valet, who also entrusted him with the task of reprimanding those at home, who were still priests, for which he also made use of other coadjutors, such as Anthony Rion. (EppIgn IV, 15, nota 2), of whom many anecdotes and expressions of his own were preserved. In fact, from the very beginning, the catalog of trades assigned to the temporal coadjutors in the Constitutions was surpassed, especially from 1552, when Lorenzo Tristán began the great tradition of Jesuit builders and artists.

The original utility was not to be lost sight of. For this reason, it is regulated that no more should be admitted than necessary to help the Society in what the others could not, in domestic work, so that they do not neglect their fundamental task or ministries (Constitutions, 148, p. 73). They should be sufficient, especially for housework, such as laundry, barber and the like, and if they do not know the trades, they should learn them (Constitutions 305, p. 129). Someone who had been admitted as a scholastic, if he turned out to be unfit for study, could become a temporal coadjutor, as happened to a young man whom Olave was told to decide: “de dexarle ay para estudiar, ó mudarle á Perosa para servir” [leaving him there to study, or moving Perosa to serve].21

2.4. Grade Rigidity

A person who has been admitted to the grade of spiritual or temporal coadjutor should not seek any change in grade:

“He ought not to seek in one way or another to pass from the grade of temporal coadjutor to that of a spiritual coadjutor or a scholastic or a professed […]. But he ought with much humility to persevere in giving service in everything to his Creator and Lord in his first vocation and to endeavor to grow in the abnegation of himself and in the pursuit of genuine virtues”

(Constitutions 117, p. 50).

This immutability was enshrined by the privilege of Gregory XIV, in his document Ecclesiae Catholicae (1591): “Ad Sacerdotium vel ad Professionem, aut cuiusvis gradus mutationem, nemini aspirare licet” [No one is permitted to aspire to the priesthood or to profession, or to any change in degree] (Inst. I, 158, 598). This constitutive rigidity of the grades is expressed in phrases such as the temporal coadjutors should be “feliz con la suerte de Marta” [happy with Marta’s lot] and “no aprenda más letras de las que sabía al entrar” [not to seek more learning than he had when he entered].

“Lot” is the English translation of the Spanish word “suerte” in reference to the degrees, according to the terminology used by the Examen. One of the meanings given by the Spanish Diccionario de Autoridades is “estado o linaje” [status or lineage]; therefore, as something fixed, determined, immutable, unchangeable (Real Academia Española 1726–1739, VI, 178). Martha refers to Mary’s sister in the gospel (Lc 10:38–42). Therefore, the “suerte de Marta” alluded to Martha’s condition or behavior, as opposed to Mary’s condition or behavior in the Gospel (service vs. devotion), and was used to allude to the domestic offices: “los demás hermanos estamos, gracias al Señor, bien ocupados con Marta” [The other brothers are, thanks be to the Lord, well occupied with Marta].22 Marta’s model for the temporal coadjutors was later reinforced by that of the holy brother porter or receptionist and mystic Alonso Rodriguez, patron saint of the temporal coadjutors.

The Examen 6 makes it clear that the person admitted for temporal coadjutor “no debe pretender más letras de las que sabía cuando entró” (not to seek more learning than he had when he entered) (Constitutions 117, p. 50), while scholastics are expected to “saldrán con las letras” (they will succeed in their studies) (Constitutions 523, p. 199), and the professed, must be “suficientes en letras” (should possess sufficient learning) (Constitutions 12, p. 25). The word “letras” corresponds globally to the intellectual culture of the time, “las ciencias, artes y erudición” (sciences, arts and scholarship) (Real Academia Española 1726–1739, IV, 388), usually with a university education.

To “be happy with Marta’s lot” and “not to seek more learning than he had when he entered” are intended to block any expectation of a change in grade. Ignatius took on the rigid structure of a static, stereotyped society such as that of the sixteenth century, different from today’s fluid society. Thus, not only are grades created in the Society, but the final grades are static grades, with no possibility of transfer from one to another. One of the reasons that moved Ignatius was to reinforce fidelity to the first vocation:

“After anyone has been incorporated into the Society in one grade, he should not seek to pass to another, 2but should strive to perfect himself in the first one and to serve and glorify God our Lord in it, leaving the care of everything else to the superior whom he holds in place of Christ our Lord”

(Constitutions 542, p. 211).

Another reason is to avoid the disquiet that might ensue with the possibility and expectation of change.23 The desire for the coadjutors to live their state in peace and quiet led St. Ignatius not to encourage them to study or to favor a dress similar to that of the scholastics, in order to avoid stimulating the desire for studies or the priesthood, with the consequent disaffection for the office of Martha. Especially, the inclination to study in unfit persons generated concern, thus, with respect to one admitted to the Society Ignatius says

“[…] Nel’ altro etiam del paese di V. R. pare si scuopra qualche inclination al studio, de la quale io non pensaua che in lui fusse; si anche là li fosse data o agiutata tal inclination, non sarebbe senza colpa, perché sarebbe in prejudicio de la abnegation et indifferenza che si ricerca nei serui de Iddio, et li tali non si trouarebono contenti, si ben il superior giudicasse che in altro si seruerebbe Iddio N. S. di loro più che in studio. Questo per auiso et aduertenza” [In the other etiam of the country of V. R. it seems to discover some inclination to study, of which I do not think that it was in him; if even there he were given or helped such an inclination’, it would not be without fault, because it would be in prejudicio of the abnegation et indifference that is sought in the servants of God, and such ones would not be found contenti, if well the superior judged that in other things God N. S. would be served more by them than in study. This is for notice and warning].24

Properly, what is intended to be avoided is the “religious career” (a type of clericalism) and to combat the pride and self-sufficiency that can come from studies (of which the priests are not free either), which also seems to be one of the reasons for blocking the possibility of studies in the brothers.

For all these reasons, Ignatius was inflexible, even harsh, against what was called the temptation to study in the case of brothers. Juan de Alba, admitted to the Society in 1545, may have influenced this decision. While working in the stable, he learned to read and began to study Isaiah and interpret the most intricate passages. When Ignatius knew this, he ordered that from then on no temporal coadjutors should learn to read or write without the permission of the superior. Then Alba studied the Institute of the Society and spread among the brothers that they did not belong to the Society, but only the priests. He ended up leaving the Society (FN I, 664, 715, 718, 738; Aicardo 1919–1932, pp. 5, 764).

2.5. The Rules

The prohibition of formation for the temporal coadjutors has its most concrete expressions in the Rules, as a concrete application of the Constitutions. The Common Rules are inspired by those of the House of Rome, the drafting of which was completed by St. Ignatius around 1549. Rule 14, the final text of which seems to be later than Ignatius, forbids temporal coadjutors to learn to read and write and also forbids anyone else to teach them, without the permission of the superior: “Nemo eorum, qui ad domestica ministeria adinittuntur, aut legere discat aut scribere, aut, si aliquid scit, plus litterarum addiscat, nec quisquam eum doceat sine Praepositi Generalis facultate; sed satis ei erit sancta cum simplicitate et humilitate Christo Domino nostro servire” [None of those who are assigned to domestic ministries should learn to read or write, or, if he knows anything, to learn more letters, nor should anyone teach him without the permission of the Superior General; but it will be enough for him to serve Christ our Lord with holiness, simplicity, and humility] (Inst. III 10).25 This rule remained in force until GC 27 (1923) suppressed rule 14 together with the rule 12 (“Aperta fenestra nemo noctu dormiat, nec sine indusio, aut non coopertus” [No one should sleep at night with an open window, nor without clothing, nor uncovered] Inst. III, 10), and entrusted Fr. General Ledóchowski with the revision of the whole Rules. Accordingly, in the English version of 1929 it is not included and is indicated: “The following Rules only have been changed somewhat: 2, 3, 10, 14 (16)” (Rules, 23).

The “Rules of the Temporal Coadjutor”, from the time of Acquaviva, constitute one of his Instructions, published as such in Institutum Societatis Iesu, (Inst. III, 355–356). A commission was created for its drafting by GC 6 (1608), and, once the text was approved by GC 7 (1615–1616), it was edited in 1616. Rule 10 prohibits even having books without the permission of the superior: “Librum nullum neque retinere, neque legere, cuiuscumque generis, iis licebit, sine Superioris licentia, cuius erit iudicium eos illis assignare, qui magis ad ipsorum spiritualem fructum expedire videbuntur” [They will not be permitted to keep or read any book, of any kind, without the permission of the Superior, whose judgment will be to assign them to those who will seem more conducive to their spiritual benefit] (Inst. III, 26). They were revised by GC 27 (1923) and its content became Rule 15 of the Temporal Coadjutors Rules, adding the prohibition to learn more than he knew when he entered:

“They shall not read or keep any book or periodical of any kind whatever, without leave of the Superior. It is for him to as-sign to them such as he may judge to be suitable for their spiritual profit or for the better performance of their work. Except with the leave of the Provincial they are not to pursue any studies beyond what they knew at their entrance into the Society; but they are to be content to serve Christ our Lord with holy simplicity and humility”

(Rules, 74).

2.6. Practice in the Modern Age

The grades made their debut in Rome when, on 29 September 1553, three temporal coadjutors took their vows “en manos del Padre Ignacio” [In the hands of the Father Ignatius]26: Martín de Zornosa, Juan de Alba, and the cook Juan Baptista de Anzola. Then, on the first Sunday of October, Nadal, who had arrived in Lisbon to promulgate the Constitutions, took the first vows of coadjutors at the same time that he took possession of the church of San Roque before the king: two spiritual coadjutors, Miguel Esteves and Francisco Vieira, and two temporal coadjutors, Domingo Anes and Andres Fernandes. The following day, at the College’s private feast, they were joined by another two “coadjutores speciales [sic], Manuel Rodrigues y Antonio Soarez, y los hermanos Andrés Gomes y Bernardino Descalcio” [Special [sic] Coadjutors, Manuel Rodrigues and Antonio Soarez, and brothers Andrés Gomes and Bernardino Descalcio] (Litt. Quad. II, 441; Rodrigues 1931, p. 624).

During Ignatius’ lifetime, very few Jesuits professed vows of coadjutor; according to Olivares: four spiritual coadjutors in Lisbon, and twelve temporal coadjutors27, among them, Lorenzo Tristano from Ferrara, en 1555. In the XVI and XVIII centuries the temporal coadjutors were 30%, in the following century it dropped to 25% (Rodríguez G. de Ceballos 1964, C-13). GC 1 (1558) already drew attention to the excessive number of brothers and GC 7 (1615) limited their number to a quarter in the colleges and a third in the professed houses (Inst. II, 359). GC 8 (1645) hired servants so as not to increase the number of temporal coadjutors, and ordered that, in the interim, no more brothers be admitted (Inst. VI, 585–593).

During his government, St. Ignatius did not burden “a sus hijos más de lo que buenamente podrían llevar, y quería que antes anduviesen descansados que ahogados” [their children more than they could properly carry, and he wanted them to be rested rather than drowned]28 but already in his time he had to order a superior not to impose too tiring and humiliating offices on the brothers, such as carrying firewood, because it was better to pay a boy for that than to have the coadjutor sick or embittered.29 As Provincial of Sicily, Polanco ordered that they should not be obliged to work as muleteers or garbage collectors (Pol Compl II, 560).

In some circumstances, the rigidity was mitigated and some brothers were authorized to begin priestly studies and to be ordained, such as the architect Giuseppe Valeriano (Rodríguez G. de Ceballos 1964, C-7). Also, Francisco de Briones, admitted by Borgia as temporal coadjutor in 1554, who was his companion in Portugal and Castile. In Medina del Campo he studied grammar for six months and in 1566 he was an associate of the procurator general of the Society in Rome. He became a scholastic and did his studies with interruptions at the Roman College where he was sotoministro (1567 and 1570) and at the German College (1668, 1571), being ordained around 1576 (O’Neilll and Dominguez 2001, DHCJ I 548–549).

But, in general, the prohibition of learning for the temporal coadjutors also applied to any type of intellectual formation, including the learning of reading and writing. However, permission could be requested for the reading and writing, which was granted on an extraordinary basis. This is what St. Francis Borgia did on one occasion.30 Mercuriano granted it in a more extraordinary way.31

In the province of Baetica, requests to learn to read and write were made relatively frequently and were usually granted,32 but a general license was not given to provincials to authorize them to learn to read and write indiscriminately, but was granted to those who proposed it individually.33 This prohibition was not formally repealed until 1995.34

The novitiate of the temporal coadjutors was shorter than that of the scholastics, because unlike these ones, who could not leave the novitiate before completing two years, they could be taken out of the novitiate after having been exercised and tested for a year, even for six months.35 Then they began the practical learning of the trade to be exercised, if they did not know it when they entered, which was done in practice, starting to work alongside a veteran. For the spiritual cultivation of this group, they were given talks on Christian doctrine on Sundays36 and meditation points twice a week,37 in addition to assuring mass with communion and confession, even for those who lived in isolation on the farms.

In the Modern Age, there was no significant change in the conception of the brothers. Most of the temporal coadjutors carried out the service assigned to them from the complete anonymity of domestic tasks, without expecting any recognition, making possible, in this way, the Society’s mission. Many brothers are remembered for their contributions to art, science, or culture, supporting and completing the Society’s mission in these fields (Oviedo 1755). As examples, but not exhaustive, we list some names of brothers who provided services other than domestic ones: Gaspar López was a procurator and redeemer of captives; Lorenzo Ortiz de Buxedo was a teacher, procurator, and writer (Soto Artuñedo 2009); Francisco Velho was procurator of the Indies; Hernando de la Cruz (Fernando de Ribera) was the spiritual director of Mariana de Jesús, a poet, and painter. An important group were missionaries (Svriz Wucherer 2019) or “language brothers” like Juan de Villegas in Tucumán, or they were anonymous scribes or assistants of recognized authors. Some were dedicated to architecture (Lorenzo and Giovanni Tristano, Juan Bautista Villalpando, Alonso Matías, Pedro Sánchez, Pedro Pérez, Juan de Carvajal), sculpture (Francisco Díaz del Rivero), and painting (Andrea Pozzo, Giuseppe Castiglione, Andrés Cortés) (for example: Mendoza Maeztu 201238). Others were missionaries and explorers like Bento de Goes; or botanists like George Kamel, after whom the Camellia flower is named; or physicians (Louis Bazin in China); pharmacists (Martín Coll).39

Canonized Jesuits as Alonso Rodríguez Gómez (the receptionist or porter of Mallorca), Renato Goupil (martyr in North America), Diego Kisai (martyr in Japan), Jean de La Lande (martyr in North America), Nicolas Owen (martyr in England and Wales) were temporal coadjutors. Some 35 Jesuit brothers have been beatified, all of them martyrs, except Brother Francisco Gárate, also a receptionist or porter at the University of Deusto (Bilbao). Four other brothers are venerable as martyrs and 22 are Servants of God as martyrs and 1 is not a martyr. Another 74 have been victims of violence during the 20th century, such as those killed in the Asturias revolution, in the Spanish Civil War, in the concentration camps and the Second World War or for the defense of the weakest, such as Brother Vicente Cañas, murdered in Mato Grosso, Brazil, in 1987. As recognized by GC 34, d. 7, 8 (Decrees of General Congregation 34, 1995, p. 49):

“The rich history of brother Saints and Blessed and the multiplicity of tasks and ministries in which brothers have been and are engaged throughout the world clearly show the variety and complementarity which characterize the apostolic mission of the brother in the Society.

It is appropriate that, along with the figure of brothers like Alphonsus Rodriguez and Francisco Garate, who achieved sanctity in domestic tasks, we make known the lives of others like James Kisai, Dominic Collins and Nicholas Owen, who laboured with dedication and generosity in the external ministries of the Society even to the surrender of their very lives. This will contribute to a more comprehensive image of the brother’s vocation and can attract new vocations.”

2.7. Changes in the 20th Century

The number of brothers began to decline and the Society realized that, if the vocation of the brother was not presented in a more modernized way and adapted to the mentality of our times, it was in danger of disappearing. We refer only to some milestones.

As we have seen, GC 27 (1923) suppressed rules 12 and 14 (prohibition of learning to read and write without permission of the superior) of the common rules, reducing them to 47, and entrusted Fr. General Włodzimierz Ledóchowski with the revision of the whole set of rules, which were enacted on 4 April 1932. They were finally replaced on 31 December 1975 by the publication of a publication entitled Vida religiosa del jesuita (1976).

Fr. Ledóchowski understood the importance of the problem and paid attention to the issue of Brothers with a letter in 8 July 1936 “Ad omnes Provinciarum Praepositos Asistentiae Americae. […] In promovendis vocationibus ad gradum Fratrum Coadjutorum” [To all Provincial Superiors of the American Assistance. […] In promoting vocations to the grade of Coadjutor Brothers] warning about the alarming decrease in temporal coadjutors, one of the causes of which was that the fathers themselves discouraged the candidates by convincing them that the vocation of brother was unworthy of our time (AR VIII, 585–591). From then on, the changes continued.

His successor, Father Jean-Baptiste Janssens, in his letter of 30 October 1948, introduced some novelties and advances: training for coadjutor novices similar to those for scholastics; the creation of preparatory schools for coadjutor postulants, the possibility of technical studies and degrees for the brothers; more generosity on the part of superiors in granting trips, vacations and breaks. He criticized the sour manner in which many fathers treated the brothers as if they were their own servants (AR XI, 511–529).

GC 30 (1957) dedicated Decree 13 to the brothers. In response to the request formulated by many provinces, it asked Father General to revise the rules for the brothers and to remove the prohibition in Rule 15 (Rules, 74), which comes from Exam 6 and prevents them from learning more than they knew before they entered. The congregation, instead of this reference from the Examen, confirmed what Father General expressed in his letter of 30 October 1948, in which he foresaw the possibility of superiors permitting some formation. The congregation tried, albeit timidly, that the most suitable cultural and human formation be provided for the brothers, in addition to the spiritual, but, assuming the limit of the Ignatian conception of the temporal coadjutor, it did not approve that they be formed and work in what “cum vera indole gradus Coadiutorum temporalium ad mentem S. P. Ignatii non congruerent” [Since the true nature of the degrees of the temporal coadjutors did not conform to the mind of St. Ignatius]. He established a juniorate or period of formation after the vows, for the brothers, and a third probation before the final vows (AR XIII, 309–310).

As a result of this congregation, Janssens wrote a broad instruction on 11 February 1958, on the formation of the brothers, with the principle that the temporal coadjutor will be a better religious the more educated he is, and the more perfect his human, technical and professional formation is, for which reason his formation should be sought, even by obtaining civil diplomas. He asks that a school be established, similar to the apostolic schools, for the formation of postulants to the brotherhood; no distinction should be made between brothers and scholastics in the formation of the novitiate, although they should have their own novice master, distinct from that of the scholastics (AR XIII, 438–449). As a consequence of the same general congregation, the new rules for brothers were promulgated on 30 October 1959, feast of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (AR XIII, 628–637).

GC 31 (1965–1966), which elected Fr. Pedro Arrupe as Superior General and put an end to the Jesuit gerontocracy by modifying the composition of the Provincial Congregation, he also dealt with a decree on the grades (d. 5) because a good number of postulates questioned the appropriateness of maintaining the differentiation of grades. They were not modified, but it was decided to create a commission to study the matter, once the congregation was over, whose opinion was to be passed on to the next congregation of procurators. Decree 7 dealt with the vocation and mission of the coadjutor brother in the Society and his greater integration into community life, understanding the reality of the Society as a “priestly body” in which, according to decree 23, 4, “All Jesuits, scholastics and brothers included (in schools, for instance, and in other communal works), share together in the one total apostolate exercised by the Society as a priestly body” (Padberg 2009, GC 31, p. 150; La Bella 2019, p. 39).

The 65th Congregation of Procurators (1970) took up the assignment of GC 31 to study several topics. The first was the opportunity to abolish the “degrees” and the second was the revision of the theological foundations of the vocation of the coadjutor brothers. On this question, Arrupe had promoted a world congress at Villa Cavalletti, 20–30 May 1970, the results of which were presented to the Congregation of Procurators. In the Society of Jesus, the coadjutors accompany the priests; in the Ignatian vision, they participate together in the redemptive work of Christ, in a single mission, lived by each according to his own charism. The congress recognized the awareness of inequality, which at times was visibly bitter. The conclusions of the congress occupied the first days of the congregation of procurators. In response, it was emphasized that brothers and priests share the same unique apostolic vocation, albeit through complementary activities, and, more radically, the participation of brothers in government and the abolition of the distinction of degrees were proposed. Pedro Arrupe, responded in a letter to the whole Society, 29 June 1970, that the juridical recommendations “tangum structuram ipsam Societatem et manifieste ingrediuntur competentiam Congregationis Generalis vel etiam Santae Sedis, exempli causa, de suppresione graduum, de identitate votorum, de plena participatione in Congregationibus Provincialibus et in Cong. Generali, de eligibilitate Fratrum ad quemvis gubernii vel directionis gradum” [touch the structure of the Society itself and manifestly enter the competence of the General Congregation or even the Holy See, for example, on the suppression of degrees, on the identity of vows, on full participation in Provincial Congregations and in the General Congregation, on the eligibility of Brothers for any degree of government or direction] (AR XV, 567–570, 569–70).

GC 32 (1974–1975) emphasized in its decree 2, 22 that there is only one mission of the whole Society, in which all Jesuits participate, albeit in different ways (Sobrino 1978):

“Because this is its common task, the Society of Jesus is, in its entirety, a sacerdotal society. But it is sacerdotal not merely in the sense of the priesthood of all the faithful. For the Society began as, and continues to be, a band of ordained ministers of the Gospel which comprises in the self-same company both those willing to share the presbyteral function of being coadjutors of the episcopal order and those willing to give themselves to those aspects of our apostolic mission for which priestly orders are not required”

(Padberg 2009, GC 32, 294).

In parallel to this process, the rigidity of the grades was also broken. It was always easy to pass from scholastic to brother, usually because of not obtaining the desired results in studies and other personal situations, but in the last part of the twentieth century there were several cases of scholastics who freely asked to pass to the rank of brother, not because of academic problems, but because, feeling a strong Jesuit vocation, they did not feel a sufficient vocation to the priesthood. There were also cases of brothers who were ordained priests, a situation not contemplated in the 1962 Epitome. For this reason, some of the first brothers to follow this path had to leave the Society, study theology on their own and then re-enter as scholastics.

Although some extraordinary permissions were given, it was not until 1986 that it was regulated that formed temporal coadjutors could study for the priesthood and be ordained deacon or priest (Manual for Juridical Practice 1997, pp. 90, 60). However, it does not seem to contemplate the possibility that any of them could be professed, but they continue with their vows of coadjutor. There were also cases in which some who had already made their final vows as spiritual coadjutors were offered the possibility of making their vows as professed (CN 122).

Arrupe was willing to extend the vow circa missiones also to the coadjutors, according to the contents of more than 1000 postulates, and the manifestation of 37 of the 85 provincial congregations and 4 of the 15 preparatory working groups of the general congregation, in addition to the congress of Villa Cavalletti (1970):

“El 22 de enero de 1975, tras un debate intenso, la Congregación define con tres votaciones sobre el tema que la extensión del cuarto voto a todos los jesuitas no perjudica la naturaleza sacerdotal de la orden, que se muestra favorable a la abolición de los «grados» y que se le comunique al papa la repraesentatio, lo expresado por los delegados. De los doscientos treinta y seis electores votan a favor de las tres cuestiones respectivamente: ciento sesenta y ocho, ciento sesenta y ciento ochenta y siete jesuitas” [On 22 January 1975, after an intense debate, the Congregation defined with three votes on the subject that the extension of the fourth vow to all Jesuits does not harm the priestly nature of the order, that it is in favor of the abolition of the “degrees” and that the pope be informed of the repraesentatio, as expressed by the delegates. Of the two hundred and thirty-six electors, one hundred and sixty-eight, one hundred and sixty-six and one hundred and eighty-seven Jesuits voted in favor of the three questions respectively]

(La Bella 2019, p. 96).

This vote provoked a major crisis in relations with the Holy See, since Paul VI had previously shown himself to be opposed to the extension of the fourth vow, since “tale innovazione, ad un attento esame, sembra presentare gravi difficoltà, che impedirebbero la necesaria approvazione da parte della Santa Sede.”40

At that time, there was a large group of Jesuits in favor of the suppression of the degrees, which led some of them to renounce solemn profession and prefer to make their definitive incorporation into the Society as spiritual coadjutors. Some others left the Society frustrated by the maintenance of grades.

Arrupe returned to the subject in a talk to the brothers of the Roman houses, 30 October 1978, with a more spiritual tone, in which he referred to the contribution of the Jesuit brother to the apostolic community as something irreplaceable, not in a utilitarian sense, since the great contribution of every brother is himself, his own life, with the koinonia, kerigma y diakonia (Arrupe 1978).

One of the issues that Fr. Kolvenbach had to face was the massive decrease in the number of Brothers, and he feared that one of the most devastating effects of the vocation crisis would be the disappearance of the figure of the coadjutor brothers. To avoid this, in a letter on vocation promotion dated 15 April 1985, he saw the need to revise our way of presenting the Society by making it “atrayente, contemporánea y no solo como una gloriosa y polvorienta institución del pasado” [attractive, contemporary and not just as a glorious, dusty institution of the past] (Kolvenbach 1992, pp. 37–42). From 3–8 September, 1987, the 67th congregation of procurators was held, where topics such as formation, the role of the coadjutor brothers and the relationship with the laity were studied (La Bella 2019, p. 185). From 20–27 September, 1990, the first congregation of provincials was held in Loyola. The postulates that arrived in Rome to be submitted to the attention of Father General are 174, 11 of them about the coadjutor brothers.

An important event was the Loyola Symposium held for fifteen days (12–24 June 1994), presided over by Father General, the majority of whose participants were Jesuit Brothers. The result was a series of proposals in which they asked the General that the next General Congregation establish clearly that the brothers are full members of the apostolic body of the Order, that they be recognized as having the right to be named superiors and the possibility of participating in the various levels of government of the Society, opting for a new name, that they cease to be called coadjutors and be called Jesuit brothers. The Brothers expressed: “Queremos compartir la misión, y dejar de ser únicamente meros ejecutores” [We want to share the mission and stop being mere executors] (La Bella 2019, pp. 206–7).

The biggest change so far was brought about by GC 34 (1995), in which, for the first time, seven temporal coadjutor brothers participated, not elected, but appointed by Father General. John Paul II confirmed that the possibility of granting the fourth vow to the brothers and making the vows solemn for all Jesuits was not to be debated. This congregation dedicated decree 7 to the brothers. Declared, as a symbolic gesture, the term “temporal coadjutor” in disuse, proposing the term “Jesuit brother”; abolished the prohibition contained in the Examen, by which the one admitted as temporal coadjutor “should not claim more learning than he knew when he entered” and, among other decisions, determined the creation of formation programs for the brothers, while expanding the range of apostolates that can be assumed by the brothers (La Bella 2019, p. 226).

In connection with the decree on Brothers, the situation was discussed when a brother was appointed minister, given that, normally, the minister replaces the superior in his absence (Complementary Norms 346, § 1, Constitutions 356). It was intended to reduce to a minimum the distance between what brothers and fathers could do; to limit it to what was required for the exercise of the priesthood. For this reason, the first proposal was that, if the minister was a brother, he should substitute for the absent superior, but, in consideration of CIC 274, §1 it was decided that a priest should be appointed simultaneously to replace the superior in certain situations:

“When a member who is not a priest is appointed minister of the house, at the same time a priest is to be designated by the provincial to take the place of the superior when he is absent, impeded by illness, or has died, whose duty it will be to care for those matters requiring the power of orders or the power of ecclesiastical governance”

(Complementary Norms 346 § 2, Constitutions 356–357).

It was not clear what those situations were, in which the action of a superior requires the power of order or the power of ecclesiastical regime, and this formulation lent itself to interpretation. A restrictive interpretation could lead to taking away from the brothers what GC 34 wanted to grant them. In the appointment of this priest, some provinces simply put “Vice-Superior” in the Catalog, although GC 18, d. 2 does not contemplate the possibility of a stable vice-superior when there is a superior. With this, some Brothers ministers felt slighted. Other provinces limited his function by adding “substitutes for the superior when priestly authority is required (§: NC 346 § 2)” others simply put “substitutes for the superior according to §: NC 346 § 2”, to make it clear that the usual vice-superior should be the Jesuit brother minister.

In the GC 35 (2008), in which 6 brothers, designated by Father General for the ad negotia phase attended, but was not granted freedom to study the revision of the Grade System. This congregation agreed to the possibility that also coadjutor brothers and priests with simple vows could, although in limited numbers, participate fully in the general congregations, even as electors of the general. This was the case in GC 36 (2016), for which a mechanism was arbitrated for the election of six brothers who participated in the election of Fr. General (La Bella 2019, pp. 229, 284). But it was also not allowed to debate on the grades.

Father Adolfo Nicolás was in favor of reducing structural differences as much as possible, while respecting the limits of canon law, which at that time, for example, did not allow a brother to be superior of clerics, although he recognized that some brothers would make good superiors. But something is moving, since a rescript of Pope Francis, which came into force on 18 May 2022, allows a non-priest religious to be appointed local, provincial and general superior in a clerical religious institute of pontifical right, notwithstanding can. 588 §2 of the Code of Canon Law and the proper law of the Institute of Consecrated Life or of the Society of Apostolic Life, without prejudice to can. 134 §1.41

Arturo Sosa established the International Commission of Jesuit Brothers (ICJB), which met for the first time in Rome in January 2025, to continue the work of the International Assembly of Jesuit Brothers held in Rome in July 2022, deepening the identity, formation and vocational promotion of the Jesuit Brother.

3. Conclusions and Final Thoughts

• St. Ignatius incorporated the temporal coadjutors to help the mission of the Society with temporal or non-spiritual works. The spiritual coadjutor arose for candidates to the Society who were already priests with little formation, much inferior to that of any present-day spiritual coadjutor, to help in simple spiritual works; later it was applied to scholastics who were not able to finish their studies with an adequate level. The different participation in the mission justified the grades, which classified Jesuits into agents (professed) and coadjutors of the mission, reserving the former only for a part of the priests. This stratification has caused pain and is not easily accepted by today’s culture and ecclesiology;
• The works proper to the temporal coadjutors foreseen in the Constitutions were soon surpassed because, although during the Modern Age, the majority of them dedicated themselves to the domestic trades, others, according to their capacity and previous formation, performed more qualified services, for example, as builders and artists;
• Since the 20th century there has been a progressive reduction in the differences between the grades in the Society, and the brothers have received more strategic and apostolic missions such as teaching at all educational levels including theology, direction of the Jesuit Refugee Service, mission in science and research, catechesis, management of works, government of the Society (socius, delegate), technical work, vocation promoters, In addition, logically, supporting “like a mother” communities and works by acting as ministers and carrying out other internal work;
• In practice, the Ignatian structure of the grades has been blurred with regard to their participation in the mission. Today the brothers are agents of the mission. There are even non-religious laity (men and women) who also carry out the mission of the Society. Today we speak of a plural apostolic subject, but a complete description of this concept in its relation to the Society’s Institute is yet to be elaborated;
• The difference between the brothers and the other collaborators and employees of the mission is that the brothers are fully integrated into the apostolic community and with the radicality of the religious vows, following the poor Jesus, with a love that is neither exclusive nor excluding and in harmony with the will of God;
• It can be said that the profile of the temporal coadjutor described in the Constitutions has disappeared in practice and a new one has emerged in practice, which is a lay religious agent of the mission, which is not always identified with that of the Constitutions;
• Recognizing this reality, the last General Congregations have diluted the differences between the degrees, have opted for a less differentiated participation in the mission, and some changes have been made in the conceptual and juridical framework, insofar as it depends on the Society, but the framework of pontifical law remains in force, which, although the Society has tried to revise, has not been allowed. For vocation promotion, it would be desirable to be able to present the different Jesuit vocations at the same level;
• One of the reasons for settling the grades, especially that of spiritual coadjutor, is that, in addition to the pain it generates, any current spiritual coadjutor has much more training than the first ones did. Differences in availability, poverty and ability will always exist (even within the professed), but, assuming a minimum that the Society can guarantee, there is no reason to consecrate the differences with different categories among priests, professed/spiritual coadjutors;
• It is advisable to continue to develop and implement good formation programs for the brothers, which can be personalized since they are not bound by canonical norms on formation for the priesthood. It is also necessary to continue to entrust them with apostolic missions at all levels, including government responsibilities, if they have the necessary capacity and the appropriate disposition;
• Regarding the Jesuit brother and the priestly character of the Society, it would be necessary to discern which of the differences imposed for the mission were intrinsic to the priesthood, and which were due to the historical, sociological and ecclesiological moment in which St. Ignatius lived, with a vertical and statal society and a clericalized church. Today, is the ordained ministerial priesthood indispensable to carry out the mission of the Society? For what missions and services would it be strictly necessary? The veto on this subject imposed by Paul VI could be clarified internally, if it is a disciplinary and political measure or also a theological and spiritual one. Are there intrinsic and necessary reasons that prevent the extension of the fourth vow to the brothers? Could the vows they pronounce have the quality of solemn vows? Could they also assume some of the simple vows of the professed?