La Compañía de Jesús en la Corteel noviciado de San Ignacio en Madrid (1602-1767)

Résumé

The doctoral thesis The Society of Jesus and the Court: The Novitiate of St. Ignatius in Madrid (1602–1767) examines for the first time this important institution in the Court of the Spanish Empire from its foundation in 1602 to its disappearance in 1767 as a consequence of the expulsion of the Jesuits. In addition to its functions as a training center, the exceptional location of the Novitiate of Madrid allowed this institution to contribute to the daily life of the capital and participate, through contact established by the royal confessors belonging to the Company, in the making of decisions of the monarchs of the period. Of all the institutions that the Company had in Madrid, the Novitiate had a more«internal» logic because it was prepared for the formation of Jesuits, that is, the Imperial College had an external function for non-Company students and seminars, and the Irish college or the Scottish college served to form missionaries or with a logic that was closer to the Crown’s strategies. The Novitiate, on the other hand, possessed an «internal» logic, the Company Logic. It was an establishment designed for the formation of the Jesuits themselves and in addition, it was a non-royal foundation, the Crown was not involved.