Jesuits - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition jesuits

Definition :

Jesuits, members of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order, founded in 1534 by Ignatius Loyola and confirmed by a Bull of Paul III. in 1540, its main object being to stem the tide of the Reformation by active propaganda. The Roman Catholic Relief Act, 1829 (10 Geo. 4, c. 7), by ss. 28-37, rendered Jesuits liable to banishment on conviction on indictment from the United Kingdom, and an attempt was made in 1902 to enforce the Act. See Law Journal Newspaper, 1st Feb., 1902, for judgment of Mr. Kennedy at the Marlborough Street Police Court on refusing a summons, and R. v. Kennedy, (1902) 86 LT 753, in which the High Court held that they had to jurisdiction to compel Mr. Kennedy to issue the summons; the sections were virtually a dead letter [Re Smith, (1914) 1 Ch 937], and are now repealed as to Great Britain by the Roman Catholic Relief Act, 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5, c. 55). See ROMAN CATHOLICS.